Court extends Shahid Khaqan's remand in LNG reference till Feb 04

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Tuesday extended judicial remand of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) contract scam, ARY News reported.

All accused including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi appeared before the Islamabad accountability court today. The court has granted exemption to former finance minister Miftah Ismail from appearing in the hearing.

The judge summoned report about arrest warrant of absconding accused Shahid Islam from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), who had also skipped the previous court proceedings of the case.

Charges could not be framed in the case due to absence of an accused, the judge said. The case proceedings will move ahead after report about arrest warrant of absconding accused will be submitted, the court said.

The court also ordered chairperson Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Uzma Adil and former chairman Saeed Ahmed to submit surety bonds of 10 million rupees each to ensure their presence in the case hearing.

The court extended judicial remand of Shahid Khaqan until February 04 and adjourned further hearing of the case till the date.

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.