IHC grants interim bail to Miftah Ismail in LNG case

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted interim bail to former finance minister Miftah Ismail till August 1st, ARY News reported.

A division bench of the high court also granted interim bail to former Managing Director Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Shaikh Imranul Haq in the same case.

IHC bench comprises of Acting Chief Justice Mr. Justice Aamir Farooque and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The court granted bail to Miftah Ismail and Shaikh Imranul Haq on surety bonds of Rs. 0.5 million each.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Javed Iqbal had last Thursday signed arrest warrants of Miftah Ismail in LNG scandal.

The petition sought a pre-arrest bail from the court till completion of the investigation and filing of reference against the accused in court.

The counsel of Miftah said that the National Accountability Bureau issued the call up notice to his client on July 15 while on 16 July, his arrest warrants were issued, which indicates malicious intent on the part of the NAB.

The Chairman NAB and Secretary Federal Ministry of Law were made party in the petition.

Ismail had got a protective bail from Sindh High Court (SHC) on last Friday.

The NAB teams last Thursday conducted raids at his residences in Karachi and Islamabad for his arrest.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has also been arrested by the accountability bureau in the same case last Thursday.

LNG Scandal

In June 2018, NAB had approved inquiry against former prime minister Abbasi, who was ex-minister for petroleum and natural resources at that time, in granting contract of LNG terminal for 15 years to their ‘favourite’ company.

It was also observed that this contract had allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. The NAB in January interrogated former finance minister Miftah Ismail in the same case.

According to NAB papers, the contract for the LNG import and distribution was awarded to the Elengy Terminal, a subsidiary of Engro, in 2013 in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.

The apex court on September 10, 2018 had directed the NAB to complete the inquiry against Abbasi and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG contract.