The Accountability Court has deferred the indictment of Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and others in the award of contracts in Nooriabad power plant reference till November 17, PEN reported on Monday.
The indictment was delayed as one of the accused named Ali Sheikh challenged the reference under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance 2020, while a report of another accused suffering from COVID-19 was also submitted in the court.
The court issued notices to the NAB on the plea of Niaz Ali and adjourned the hearing until November 17.
The Nooriabad power plant reference alleged that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah issued funds for power projects in Sindh in violation of rules and that billions of rupees were embezzled in the Nooriabad Power Company and the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company projects.
The Nooriabad Power Project was originally envisaged by the Sindh government in 2012 but it could not be initiated due to excessive paperwork and delays in regulatory approvals. The project was finally launched in August 2014 under a public-private partnership at a cost of Rs13 billion.