LNG scam: Court to indict Ex-PM Abbasi, others after filing of reference

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court of Islamabad on Friday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a supplementary reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other accused in the LNG scam on next hearing.

Accountability Judge Azam Khan resumed hearing the case as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart as well as other accused named in the corruption case turned up for the trial proceedings.

The bureau’s prosecutor informed the judge that a supplementary reference is in the final phase as the anti-corruption watchdog has got its hand on some new relevant record of the LNG contracts in question, which is being examined.

He said NAB needs three to four weeks to finish the reference and file it in the court.

The accountability court ruled that it will indict the accused after filing of the supplementary reference and put off the hearing until August 6 when the bureau is required to file the reference.

LNG scandal

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail, ex-PSO MD Imranul Haq and others are facing charges of corruption over awarding a LNG import contract allegedly at exorbitant rates in 2015, which caused a big loss to the national exchequer.

NAB sources said that Abbasi, in 2013, had awarded a LNG import and distribution contract to the Elengy Terminal in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.