Key official’s arrest may leave govt red-faced

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ISLAMABAD: In what seems like a move tailored to embarrass the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has picked up the head of a government-run power board — who is supposed to be a key part of the ground-breaking ceremony for a 1,320 megawatt power project scheduled to be held in Karachi on Tuesday.

According to NAB spokesperson Ramzan Sajid, the bureau arrested on Sunday three people in connection with a Rs22 billion rental power project (RPP) scam. The three men picked up are Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Managing Director N.A. Zuberi and two former chief executive officers of Lakhra Power Generation Company Limited (LPGCL-Genco) Anwar Brohi and Muhammad Jamil. The former was taken into custody from Islamabad while the other two were picked up from Karachi.

The NAB spokesperson said the bureau was investigating the allegedly illegal award of contract to M/s Karkey Karadenize Electric Uretium, a Turkish company, for the commissioning of a rental power project in Karachi. An agreement to this effect was signed between Karkey and LPGCL, he added.

“The three men in custody are accused of causing massive losses to the national exchequer by extending undue favours to the Turkish firm,” he said.