A trial court on January 31 acquitted 16 people nominated in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference with regard to a safe-water project undertaken during the second term of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif as Punjab chief minister.

NAB had filed the reference in 2018 against 20 people, mostly officials and officers of the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC), an organization formed during the PML-N’s rule to provide clean drinking water to the people of the province and also to create awareness about sanitation.

NAB had launched a probe in November 2017 into alleged corruption in the 56 public-sector companies, formed by the Shehbaz Sharif led provincial government. The PSPC was one of the companies.

The NAB’s inquiry against management of the PSPC-South and others was subsequently converted into “Investigation” on August 20, 2018 and a reference on December 4, 2018.

In the reference, the graft buster had claimed that the accused awarded an illegal contract to the KSB – a German multinational manufacturer of pumps and valves – for installation of 116x water filtration plants at “exorbitant rates” and by means of corruption and corrupt practices.

According to the reference, the PSPC officers and officials had allegedly embezzled over Rs345 million.

It alleged that the accused had prepared engineering cost estimates at much higher rates in connivance with the consultants and officials of the PSPC. They had also allegedly approved weather shield applications for the plants at exorbitant rates.

PML-N leader and former Punjab Assembly member Qamarul Islam who had served as the PSPC director while Waseem Ajmal, a civil servant who had served as its chief executive officer (CEO) of  the company had also been nominated in the reference. NAB arrested both Islam and Ajmal in June 2018.

They were granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on January 30, 2019. However, Lahore Accountability Court No 5 Judge Sajid Ali Awan issued a short order on January 31, acquitting 16 of the accused including Qamarul Islam and Waseem Ajmal.

Talking to micro-blogging site Twitter after the announcement of the verdict, Shehbaz thanked the Almighty. “The fog of political vengeance is gradually dissipating and the light of truth is spreading,” he added.

Interestingly, NAB had also tried to implicate Shehbaz in the case.

On October 5, 2018, when NAB arrested the former CM from the premises of its Lahore office due to his alleged misuse of authority in the Ashiana Housing Scheme case, the graft buster had actually summoned Shehbaz in connection with its probe into the Saaf Pani case.

In the Saaf Pani case, NAB had also accused the company’s CEO of approving payment of Rs24.7 million to the management of the Ali and Fatima Developers as the rent of the PSPC office without approval of the PSPC board of directors (BOD) despite the fact that “the possession was not taken till date”.

The Ali and Fatima Developers was owned by Ali Imran Yousaf, Shehbaz’s son-in-law, who, along with his wife, Rabia Ali, were declared proclaimed offenders as they failed to appear before the court despite numerous summonses.

The court on February 13 unveiled its 23-page detailed verdict which said the prosecution failed to prove any allegations of corruption, material violation or discrepancy against any public office holder or others in the company’s project for installation of water filtration plants.

“There [is] nothing on the record to show or indicate that in the process of approval or execution of the subject scheme, any holder of public office or any other person has received or conferred ally monetary or other material benefit, therefore, no offence whatsoever under the NAO 1999 is made out,” it said.

In reference to the allegations of violation of rules, the judge noted that: “Having discussed the allegations with reference to the installation of the project, on point to point basis I have no doubt in my mind that no material violation or discrepancy could be highlighted in the reference.”

“From the stage of survey/assessment till the completion of the project and installation of the water treatment plants, the rules and regulations were generally observed with due care and caution…

“Whatever changes were made at various stages of the project, same were thoroughly discussed by the respective committees and were recommended and approved with the only purpose to make the project more efficient to cater the need of maximum people without increasing the cost,” he noted

The verdict noted that in obtaining an office for the PSPC on rent in a building owned by Imran Ali Yousaf, the company had not made any violation of any law or rules or any significant violation of the financial manual.

It said the amount determined as alleged loss to the government exchequer was paid as advance rent and security and even the rented premises were occupied by the staff of the PSPC.

The verdict said the rent agreement was ultimately terminated by the PSPC management on the sole ground that the rented premises were owned by some political figure and the company did not want to attribute any political affiliation.

“Neither was there any misuse of authority by accused Ajmal, the former CEO, nor any undue benefit appears to have been gained or conferred by him or to his co-accused and at the most it was a case of breach of terms and conditions of contract which does not come within the ambit of the NAO 1999.”

The verdict said the alleged loss to the exchequer had been determined on the basis of the reports procured much after the completion of the project.

“Even otherwise it is neither possible nor safe to rely upon these reports because of the fluctuating market prices and above all the reports cannot be considered as a conclusive proof of any monetary benefit allegedly availed by or conferred upon any of the accused, which is clearly missing in this case.”

The court allowed the acquittal applications of the accused considering that there is not even the remotest probability of the conviction in any offence under NAO 1999 and any further proceedings in the reference will be “an exercise in futility”.

To the extent of Shehbaz’s son-in-law Yousaf and daughter Rabia, the judge consigned the case file to record till the arrest or surrender of the proclaimed offenders.