AC to indict Sindh CM on July 28 in Nooriabad power plant reference

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court (AC) Islamabad on Wednesday fixed July 28 as the date for indicting Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and other accused in Nooriabad power Plant reference.

Murad Ali Shah could not be indicted on Wednesday as Judge Asghar Ali deferred the matter. The judge ordered all the accused to be present on July 29 for the indictment. Sindh chief minister also attended the hearing. Later, talking to media outside the court, Murad Ali Shah refused to step down, saying he will remain the CM so long as he enjoyed the trust of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership and party members of the Sindh Assembly.

Murad said the provincial government had with it details of assets of the departments tasked with the accountability of politicians. “Even PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said assets of those holding others accountable will also be checked,” he added. He regretted that the opposition had again started creating problems. Expressing surprise at the conduct of the opposition on the fourth day of the budget session, the CM said, “What happened in the Sindh Assembly (SA) was unfortunate.” He said opposition members of the assembly even did not spare the assembly staff. Murad said in his opinion TikToker Hareem Shah’s marriage was doing rounds on social media, and not in the provincial assembly, as was being commonly understood. He told the media that he could not be indicted even today due to some legal issues. Sindh chief minister said that members of the SA belonging to the opposition created lot of uproar during the budget speech. “They (the opposition) did not move a single cut motion,” he said, and added perhaps this was because of the fact that they did not have any objection to the budget.