ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Tuesday ordered former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Babar Awan to submit surety bonds of Rs0.2 million each in the Nandipur Power Project case.
The two were summoned by the accountability court during which the court approved their bail and directed them to submit their surety bonds.
The hearing was then adjourned till October 2.
Speaking to media after the hearing, Ashraf said, “I am surprised to find my name linked to this case. The case against me is baseless.”
Further, the former prime minister said, “I came to know about the facts of the case after reading the report by SC Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery. Our lawyers will take the case up in Supreme Court.”
Earlier, Awan and Ashraf were summoned for the hearing of the case that was held in Islamabad accountability court.
The reference was filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over alleged delay in the project, inflicting a whopping Rs27 billion loss to national exchequer. The court had also ordered former law secretary Masood Chishti and Riaz Kiyani to appear before the court.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till September 18.
Earlier, Babar Awan tendered resignation from his post after the NAB filed a reference against him in the accountability court over the scam.
In his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the PTI leader said that he resigned from his post to prove the allegations against him are baseless.
The Nandipur power project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on December 27, 2007, at a cost $329 million.
Its contract was signed on January 28, 2008, between the Northern Power Generation Company Limited (NPGCL) and Dong Fang Electric Corporation of China and two consortiums — COFACE for 68.967 million euros and SINOSURE for $150.151m — were established for financing the project.
The case was initiated after the Supreme Court restored the 2011 petition filed by former defence minister Khawaja Asif regarding corruption in the Nandipur project. The court had issued notices to the Water and Power Development Authority and the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco).
