Miftah Ismail, Imran ul Haq’s physical remand extended till September 12

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday extended physical remand of former finance minister, Miftah Ismail and former Managing Director (MD) Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Imran ul Haq till September 12 in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tender scandal.

The accused were presented in the court of Duty Judge Raja Jawad Abbas.

According to the anti-graft watchdog, the LNG sector was suffering an annual loss of $228 thousand annually due to the underhanded practices carried out by aforesaid persons in the previous government.

At the outset of the hearing, NAB’s prosecutor pleaded the court to extend the remand of the accused, as they might need to confront the accused with other accused in the scandal.

To this, the lawyer of Miftah said the bureau has failed in carrying out any investigation in 22-day remand of his client.

The court after hearing arguments from the both sides extended Miftah Ismail and Imran ul Haq’s physical remand till September 12.

On last hearing of the case, Haq’s counsel Salman Akram Raja in his arguments before the court had said the accountability bureau has no concrete proof against his client on which his physical remand can be extended.

The medical reports of Miftah Ismail were also presented in the court. According to the reports, the PML-N leader is suffering from heart disease and keeping him in the custody can be deadly.

Read more: Shahid Khaqan, Miftah Ismail, others placed on ECL in LNG scandal probe

However, the court extended the physical remand of both the accused until August 30 and adjourned the hearing.

Ismail who was attending court proceedings over a bail petition he had submitted prior in the Islamabad High Court was apprehended by a NAB team which got there after the politician’s bail request was rejected by the court.