RPP cases: NAB to move reference against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
Investigations into six more RPP cases under way, say officials.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been accused of misusing authority and embezzling billions of rupees while serving as minister for water and power in the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has finally decided to move a reference against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf over his alleged involvement in embezzlement worth billions of rupees in the rental power plants case.
“The executive board of NAB will be filing a supplementary reference against former minister for water and power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the Naudero-II RPP case,” bureau spokesperson Ramzan Sajid told The Express Tribune. According to him, the decision was taken in a crucial meeting chaired by recently appointed NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Thursday.
Ashraf has been accused of misusing authority and embezzling billions of rupees while serving as minister for water and power in the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet. According to NAB officials, the former premier allegedly misused his authority to secure financial benefits by awarding contracts illegally in almost all RPP cases.
The bureau has already sent preliminary references against nine accused to the accountability court in the Naudero-II case. The references accuse the nine individuals of misusing authority and flouting rules and regulations while awarding the Naudero-II RPP contract and shifting equipment from one project to another.
Those accused in the preliminary references include former water and power secretary and ex-chairman of Pepco Shahid Rafi, former water and power additional secretary Zarrar Aslam, former Pepco CEO/MD Engineer Tahir Basharat Cheema and former Pepco directors Malik Muhammad Razi Abbas and Wazir Ali Bhayo.
Once the supplementary reference has been filed, Ashraf’s case will be sent to the accountability court for further proceedings, Ramzan Sajid said.
Meanwhile, NAB officials said investigations into six more RPP cases were also underway. They explained that investigators file references in a certain case only after they are certain that the collected evidence will be enough to convict an accused in court.
The bureau has already completed investigations into the Sahiwal-Sialkot, Piranghaib-Multan and Karkey I cases. The former premier is among the accused in all these cases, along with former finance minister Shaukat Tareen.
Separately, the NAB chairman also authorised inquiries against former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa revenue minister Syed Murid Kazim and former senior member of the K-P Board of Revenue Ahsanullah for allegedly misusing their authority to allot 182 kanals of prime government land in Dera Ismail Khan and the officials of Quetta Electric Supply Company for the illegal recruitment of 280 employees. The NAB chief also directed the bureau’s Sindh chapter to redouble their efforts to complete investigations into the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2013.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has finally decided to move a reference against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf over his alleged involvement in embezzlement worth billions of rupees in the rental power plants case.
“The executive board of NAB will be filing a supplementary reference against former minister for water and power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the Naudero-II RPP case,” bureau spokesperson Ramzan Sajid told The Express Tribune. According to him, the decision was taken in a crucial meeting chaired by recently appointed NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Thursday.
Ashraf has been accused of misusing authority and embezzling billions of rupees while serving as minister for water and power in the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet. According to NAB officials, the former premier allegedly misused his authority to secure financial benefits by awarding contracts illegally in almost all RPP cases.
The bureau has already sent preliminary references against nine accused to the accountability court in the Naudero-II case. The references accuse the nine individuals of misusing authority and flouting rules and regulations while awarding the Naudero-II RPP contract and shifting equipment from one project to another.
Those accused in the preliminary references include former water and power secretary and ex-chairman of Pepco Shahid Rafi, former water and power additional secretary Zarrar Aslam, former Pepco CEO/MD Engineer Tahir Basharat Cheema and former Pepco directors Malik Muhammad Razi Abbas and Wazir Ali Bhayo.
Once the supplementary reference has been filed, Ashraf’s case will be sent to the accountability court for further proceedings, Ramzan Sajid said.
Meanwhile, NAB officials said investigations into six more RPP cases were also underway. They explained that investigators file references in a certain case only after they are certain that the collected evidence will be enough to convict an accused in court.
The bureau has already completed investigations into the Sahiwal-Sialkot, Piranghaib-Multan and Karkey I cases. The former premier is among the accused in all these cases, along with former finance minister Shaukat Tareen.
Separately, the NAB chairman also authorised inquiries against former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa revenue minister Syed Murid Kazim and former senior member of the K-P Board of Revenue Ahsanullah for allegedly misusing their authority to allot 182 kanals of prime government land in Dera Ismail Khan and the officials of Quetta Electric Supply Company for the illegal recruitment of 280 employees. The NAB chief also directed the bureau’s Sindh chapter to redouble their efforts to complete investigations into the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2013.