ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday failed to appear for an accountability court hearing in a case pertaining to the allegedly illegal awarding of government advertisement contracts.
Judge Azam Khan deferred indictment of all the accused, including Gilani, over their non-appearance.
Meanwhile, former principal information officer (PIO) Saleem Baig filed a plea seeking his acquittal in the case under the recently employed amendment in the NAB ordinance.
However, the NAB prosecutor opposed the petition and recalled the federal government has already taken back the ordinance. “The government has made an announcement too in this regard,” he said.
After directing the Bureau to present its stance on the ordinance, the court adjourned the hearing till Jan 30.
Gilani, former Information Technology secretary Farooq Awan, former PIO Baig, former company secretary of Universal Service Fund Syed Hasan Sheikh and other individuals were nominated in the reference.
According to NAB, the accused allegedly misused their positions to illegally grant an advertising contract in contravention of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, causing a loss of Rs129.07 million.
