Pakistani court defers action against ex-PM Raja Ashraf

A Pakistani court today adjourned till December 14 the indictment of former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf over alleged corruption in setting up power projects.

Ashraf was present in the accountability or anti-graft court here for the hearing of the Rental Power Projects case.

During the proceedings, former Law Minister Farooq Naek, who appeared as Ashraf's counsel, said the accountability court's indictment could not take place because the matter was also being heard by a High Court.

Naek informed the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had not provided copies of the contracts for the power projects and documents related to the case. He said the allegation against Ashraf regarding abuse of power was wrong.

The bench directed NAB to provide the documents to Ashraf's counsel and adjourned the indictment till the next hearing on December 14.

The allegations against Ashraf, a Pakistan People's Party (PPP) politician who served as premier between June 2012 and March 2013, date back to his term as Power Minister.

He was accused of receiving kickbacks from nine firms for giving them contracts to set up rental power projects to overcome a crippling energy crisis. The allegations earned him the nickname "Raja Rental".

NAB has been investigating cases in which firms failed to set up power plants even after reportedly receiving over Rs 22 billion as advance payments from the government.