CM Murad appears before NAB in Roshan Sindh case

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah reached the National Accountability Bureau's old headquarters on Wednesday, in relation to the Sindh Roshan Project corruption case.

Shah will answer 28 questions before the anti-graft watchdog's combined investigation team (CIT). Stringent security arrangements were made at the bureau headquarters and its environs in light of the CM's visit.

The national watchdog has summoned Shah on allegations of corruption in the solar street lights project. NAB claims that several companies won contracts worth billions of rupees for the ‘Roshan Sindh’ project by paying bribes to the tune of Rs90 million.

Shah is accused of procuring substandard solar lights for the project at the cost of Rs4 billion - 400 per cent higher than their value. According to NAB, Shah wrote a letter in 2014-15 to the then finance minister to award contracts to the CM's favoured companies.

The CM had also appeared before the anti-graft watchdog earlier this year, on June 4, in relation to the same case. The probe into the programme is among others taking place as part of the investigation into the mega fake accounts scandal.

The Roshan Sindh scheme was approved in 2014 during the tenure of former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah to install 20,000 solar lights by June 2016 in major municipal and town committees across the province at a cost of Rs4 billion.

Another project, estimated at Rs3 billion, was meant to install solar lights in rural areas. This project was approved on the October 26, 2016, and was supposed to be completed by June 2018.

A third project, with a price tag of Rs1.5 billion, was touted as the second phase of the earlier scheme to install solar lights in rural areas.

Last year, Qaim Ali Shah also appeared before NAB and submitted answers to 20 questions in the Roshan Sindh project case