ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal has sought acquittal in the Narowal Sports Complex (NSC) reference on the basis of the judgement that exonerated Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan in Nandipur corruption case.

Counsel for Mr Iqbal, Zulfiqar Abbasi Naqvi, on Wednesday argued before the accountability court that Islamabad High Court (IHC) had recently issued a detailed judgement in Nandipur Power Project reference.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on March 18, 2018 had filed the reference against Babar Awan, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, ex-law secretaries retired Justice Riaz Kiani, Masood Chishti and others for delaying the project which led to its price escalation.

IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq observed that “the manner in which the matter was dealt with between different ministries at the most raises questions regarding governance but, by no stretch of the imagination, can it be treated as the commission of a criminal offence under the Ordinance of 1999. It also cannot be ruled out that fear amongst the bureaucracy of being exposed to proceedings may have been the likely cause of the delay but there is nothing on record to even suggest a guilty mind or existence of mens rea [criminal intent] let alone fulfillment of the ingredients of the offences alleged to have been committed.

Advocate Naqvi pointed out before the accountability judge that the NSC case was exactly of the same nature, adding that in the instant case, the project was started when Iqbal was not even holding a public office.

He sought adjournment and said that he would file an application under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code for acquittal of Mr Iqbal.

It may be mentioned here that NAB had accused Iqbal of misuse of authority for “enhancing the scope of project from Rs34.75 million to Rs3 billion”.

According to the NAB reference, the project of the NSC, formerly known as Sports Stadium Narowal, was initially conceived in 1999 on the directives of Mr Iqbal “without any feasibility study”.

The project was initially approved at a cost of Rs34.74 million by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) headed by Mr Iqbal. In the same year, he directed the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the National Engineering Service of Pakistan to enhance the scope of the project. Accordingly, it was enhanced to the tune of Rs97.52 million.

Mr Iqbal personally identified land for the project and provided specific Khasra (plot) Nos. to the PSB to acquire the land he had identified.

The project was shelved in 1999 by the PSB on the directives of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms on the ground that the project did not have the requisite weightage with respect to economic necessity.

The project was again launched in 2009 when it was approved at a cost of Rs732 million. However, the project was devolved to the Punjab government in 2011 after the introduction of the 18th Amendment.

Mr Ahsan was arrested by NAB in Dec 2019 and remained in custody for two months. Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted him the post-arrest bail.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2021