ISLAMABAD: An accountability court has once again deferred the indictment of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and others in Nooriabad Power Plant reference until November 17.
Accountability Court-III Judge Asghar Ali heard the heard but delayed the indictment as the accused Ali Sheikh challenged the reference under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance 2020, while another accused suffering from COVID-19.
The court issued notices to the NAB on the plea of Niaz Ali and adjourned the hearing until November 17. The accountability court will now indict the chief minister and others on November 17.
Addressing media after the hearing, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that everyone knows how PTI government had come into power. “There are now winds of change. We will be in the Centre soon as well.”
The chief minister said that PTI government blames everything on opposition parties. He further recommended handing over the federal government to the opposition as well. “Imran Khan is best suited to be chief executive of the PCB. We will ensure to make him after coming to power.”
According to the reference filed by the anti-corruption watchdog, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah is facing charges of misusing power in the disbursement of funds for energy-related projects in Sindh.
The bureau states public funds have been embezzled for Nooriabad Power Company and Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC). Murad Ali Shah, Abdul Ghani Majeed and Khursheed Anwar Jamali are among 17 persons nominated in the corruption reference.
The Nooriabad Power Project was envisaged by the Sindh government in 2012 but it could not materialise due to red-tapism and delays in regulatory approvals. The project was finally launched in August 2014 under a public-private partnership at a cost of Rs13 billion.
In October last year, it emerged that Murad Ali Shah and over 12 provincial cabinet members are on the radar of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) under corruption charges in separate cases.
