The Accountability Court in Islamabad on Monday adjourned the indictment of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf till Dec 14 in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case.
During the proceedings of the case, former federal law minister Farooq H Naek submitted power of attorney on behalf of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the court.
Ashraf’s lawyer argued that his client has been accused of misuse of power but the beneficiaries of the deal are not being tried by the court.
The beneficiaries, including Iqbal Z Ahmed and MN Baig, have been granted stay orders by the Lahore High Court (LHC), he said.
He also said the RPPs case was also being tried in the high court and that the accountability court’s indictment could not take place.
Naek informed the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not provide on reference a copy of the contract and documents pertaining to the reference. He added that the allegations against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf regarding abuse of powers were baseless.
On this, the court directed the NAB to produce relevant documents to Pervaiz Ashraf’s lawyer.
The court sought all relevant record until the next hearing and adjourned the hearing till December 14.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had been under investigation for his role in granting RPPs as a water and power minister in the cabinet of ex-PM Yousuf Raza Gilani.
In March 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had declared all such projects unlawful and ordered investigation against the officials, including Pervaiz Ashraf.
