Awan defends law ministry's role in Nandipur case

Former law minister submits arguments on his bail plea in the Nandipur project case


Naeem Asghar January 24, 2019
PTI Leader Babar Awan. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: As the accountability court resumed hearing the Nandipur power project corruption reference on Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Babar Awan stressed that it was not the job of the law ministry to inform relevant quarters if a project was promising or not.

The former law minister also submitted arguments on his bail plea before Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik.

Accountability court adjourns Nandipur hearing till Nov 26

Speaking during the hearing, Awan said the basic approval for the project had to be given by the finance ministry and insisted, he would not blame anyone.

The PTI leader was previously a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) when the power project was being constructed. In 2017, however, he parted ways with the party and joined Tehreek-e-Insaaf.

Former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf and Awan along with former secretaries of the law ministry Muhammad Masood Chishti and Justice (retd) Riaz Kiyani, former research consultant of the law ministry Shamila Mahmood, former senior joint secretary ministry of law Dr Riaz Mahmood and former secretary ministry of water and power Shahid Rafi are accused in the case.

The Nandipur Power Project

The project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on December 27, 2007, at a cost of $329 million.

On January 28, 2008, the contract was signed between the Northern Power Generation Company Limited (NPGCL) and the Dong Fang Electric Corporation (DEC), China and two consortiums – COFACE for 68.967 million euros and SINOSURE for $150.151 million – were set up for financing the project.

The water and power ministry had sought legal opinion on the project from the law ministry in accordance with the schedule of the agreement in July 2009, but the accused repeatedly refused to do so.

Awan, Ashraf to be indicted on Oct 24 in Nandipur project case

Furthermore, the ministry of water and power also failed to take concrete steps to resolve the issue, and the matter remained pending.

According to details shared by the National Accountability Bureau, after Awan was replaced as the law minister, a legal opinion was issued on November 2011 – after over two years. This inordinate and malafide delay caused a loss of Rs27 billion to the national exchequer.

During the course of the investigation, it was established that the accused committed the offence(s) of corruption and corrupt practice, as defined in u/s 9 (a) (vi) and (xii) read with Sr.5 of Schedule Offences of NAO, 1999.

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