Sindh CM, others acquitted in Nooriabad reference

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court Tuesday acquitted Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and all other accused in the Nooriabad Power Project reference and accepted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman’s request to withdraw the case.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana presided over the hearing of the reference, which named Murad Ali Shah and others.

Defence counsel Barrister Qasim Nawaz Abbasi, appeared before the court.

After reviewing the request to withdraw the reference, the court acquitted all the accused.

The decision came after the Supreme Court last month overturned a previous ruling that nullified amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws.

Following the ruling, key political figures in the country have breathed a sigh of relief, as they stand to benefit the most from the amendments made by the PMLN government to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 2000.

The fact that these changes have been endorsed by the Supreme Court’s larger bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, sets the law even further in stone.

The ruling also overturned the majority decision by former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice (retd) Ijazul Ahsan, which had nullified the amendments.

The reference accused Shah of abusing his authority and violating rules by releasing funds for the Nooriabad Power Plant, alleging that billions of rupees were embezzled in both the Nooriabad Power Company and the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company projects.