Nandipur reference: Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s acquittal plea rejected

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – An accountability court on Wednesday rejected acquittal plea of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Asharaf in the Nandipur power project reference. It is pertinent to mention here that the former prime minister had filed acquittal plea under the new amended National Accountability Laws. Earlier, PTI leader Babar Awan was acquitted in the case before the approval of the NAB (Amendment) Ordinance. Accountability Court Judge Azam Khan conducted the hearing and announced the verdict. The court rejected the petitions of the erstwhile premier, Shumaila Mehmood, Riaz Kiyani and Masood Chishti under the National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance. After rejecting the acquittal plea of Raja Pervaiz, the court ordered to continue trial in the reference. Accused cannot be given relief under the new amended laws of the NAB, the court said in its verdict. The NAB had also opposed to approve the acquittal pleas of the suspects. The reference was filed after the national exchequer suffered loss worth billions of rupees due to delay in the Nandipur Power Project.