Former PM Ashraf acquitted in another RPP reference.

Byline: Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD -- The Accountability Court-I of Islamabad on Tuesday acquitted former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former finance minister Shaukat Tareen, former bureaucrats and directors of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) in the Piranghaib Rental Power Project (RPP) reference.

This is the second time in less than a week in which all the accused persons have been acquitted in an RPP reference.

In 2014, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the Piranghaib RPP reference against Mr Ashraf, Mr Tareen, former federal secretaries Ismail Qureshi and Shahid Rafi, ex-managing director Tahir Basharat Cheema and directors of Pepco Razi Abbas, Wazir Ali Bhaio, Saleem Arif and Iqbal Ali Shah.

Interestingly, the prosecution witnesses when cross-examined in the case admitted that no loss was caused to the national exchequer in the Piranghaib RPP.

For instance, Mohammad Yousaf, chief engineer and the then director technical for RPP, when cross-examined by Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, counsel for Mr Ashraf, stated that 'no advance payment was made to the sponsors of Piranghaib. Since no implementation of board's decision and that of ECC [Economic Coordination Committee] was made, no loss was caused to the national exchequer.'

The witness further said: 'As no advance payment was made in this case, government of Pakistan guarantee was also not given to the service providers.'

NAB had accused Mr...