NAB appeals acquittal of former PM, others in Piranghaib RPP reference.

ISLAMABAD -- The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday challenged the acquittal of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the Piranghaib Rental Power Project (RPP) reference.

The bureau has appealed the verdict of an Islamabad accountability court that acquitted Mr Ashraf and other accused individuals in the reference, observing that they did not cause any loss to the public exchequer.

The Piranghaib RPP reference was filed in 2014 against Mr Ashraf, former finance minister Shaukat Tareen, former federal secretaries Ismail Qureshi and Shahid Rafi, former Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) managing director Tahir Basharat Cheema and Pepco directors Razi Abbas, Wazir Ali Bhaio, Saleem Arif and Iqbal Ali Shah.

During cross examination, the prosecution witnesses in the case admitted that the Piranghaib RPP caused no loss to the national exchequer.

For instance, Mohammad Yousaf, chief engineer and the then RPP director technical when cross examined by Mr Ashraf's counsel Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, said: 'No advance payment was made to the...