LAHORE: An accountability court on Saturday allowed one-time exemption to former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from personal appearance in proceedings against him on charges of making illegal appointments in the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco).

As the court resumed hearing, Iftikhar Shahid advocate appeared on behalf of Mr Ashraf, stating that the former premier was not able to attend the proceedings due to the joint session of the parliament on national security and suspension of flights’ schedule. The court allowed one time exemption to Ashraf from appearance.

The former managing director of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), Tahir Basharat Cheema, a co-suspect, was present in the court; however, his counsel was not available. The court directed him to ensure presence of his counsel on next hearing (March 9).

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had accused Mr Ashraf of making illegal appointments in Gepco during his stint as the federal minister for water and power. It said Mr Ashraf had misused his powers and appointed 437 people in Gepco from his electoral constituency without any merit.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2019