ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday summoned Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and other suspects in connection with a graft case on March 31.
In January, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the first-ever reference against Shah for “misuse of authority”, accusing him of releasing funds for Nooriabad Power Company and Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company projects in violation of the rules.
The Nooriabad power project was originally conceived by the Sindh government in 2012, but could not be materialised due to “red-tapism and delays in regulatory approvals”.
It was launched in August 2014 under a public-private partnership at a cost of Rs13 billion in which the Sindh government held 49 per cent shares and a private company owned 51 percent. A 95-kilometer-long, 132kV double-circuit transmission line was laid from Nooriabad to Karachi at a cost of Rs1.95 billion, causing a $16 million loss to the national exchequer.
In the previous proceedings, the agency had addressed the objections raised on the reference by the accountability court. The watchdog has filed a 66-volume record against Shah in court.
The statements and evidence submitted by witnesses against the chief minister are also part of the record.
