Miftah Ismail reaches SHC for protective bail

KARACHI: Former finance minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday contacted the Sindh High Court (SHC) to obtain protective bail, ARY News reported.

Miftah is currently facing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry in the liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) terminal scandal.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader has stated in his plea that the accountability watchdog is carrying out alleged baseless inquiry against him.

He pleaded the court to grant him protective bail as he is ready to cooperate with the NAB in its inquiry in the LNG scam.

Earlier, the NAB had requested the interior ministry to put the name of former finance minister Miftah Ismail on the Exit Control List.

In October, 2018, the NAB had reopened investigation into LNG scandal against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others.

The file of the case was closed and it was in the back burner at Karachi office of the National Accountability Bureau.

The anti-corruption watchdog is inquiring into a case registered in 2015 against Abbasi for awarding a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract which caused a potential $2 billion loss to the national exchequer.

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