RPP case: Accountability court indicts former PM Ashraf

The former premier refuses to plead guilty, says allegations against him are not true.

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad indicted former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the others accused in the Rental Power Plants (RPP) case on Friday, Express News reported.

The hearing of the case was adjourned to February 4.

Ashraf was 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 National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials, the former premier had allegedly misused his authority to secure financial benefits by awarding contracts illegally in almost all RPP cases.

“The former premier is innocent and he did not harm the national treasury,” Ashraf’s lawyer Farooq H Naek stated, while talking to the media in Islamabad.

"Accusations against me are not true and made without investigation," the former prime minister stated, refusing to plead guilty.

RPP case

In December last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the initiation of criminal proceedings against Ashraf, among other legislators, for allegedly distributing billions of rupees on account of developmental funds ten days after completing his tenure.

The SC had also authorised investigations against those who made feasibility reports for the funds or violated the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules in its distribution.

The three-member bench had made these observations in its 38-page judgment in a suo motu case, which was initiated over media reports claiming that the former prime minister had doled out the billions of rupees.

On November 6, 2013, the NAB had declared Ashraf as an accused in the RPP case. NAB had submitted a reference against him in an accountability court over his alleged involvement.

The bureau had earlier sent preliminary references against nine accused to the accountability court in the Naudero-II RPP 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.