Nandipur case: Verdict on Babar Awan's acquittal plea deferred again
Last updated on: 22 May,2019 12:14 pm
The judge suggested to announce verdict after the Eid.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – An accountability court in Islamabad has once again deferred the announcement of its ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Babar Awan’s acquittal plea in the Nandipur Power Project reference. During the hearing, the arguments on the plea were not able to be completed due to which Justice Arshad Malik delayed the decision. The judge suggested to announce verdict after the Eid and directed to complete the arguments on the acquittal plea on May 31.
Nandipur Power Project case
The Nandipur power project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee on Dec 27, 2007, at a cost of $329 million. After the approval, the contract was signed on Jan 28, 2008, between the Northern Power Generation Company Limited and the Dong Fang Electric Corporation, China. Two consortiums — Coface for 68.967m euros and Sinosure for $150.151m — were set up for financing the project. The water and power ministry sought legal opinion on the project from the law ministry in accordance with the schedule of the agreement in July 2009, but the accused repeatedly refused to do so. The water and power ministry also failed to take any concrete steps to resolve the issue and the matter remained pending. According to NAB, the legal opinion was issued in November 2011 after Mr Awan was replaced as the law minister.