NAB gets 13-day remand of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in LNG case

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been handed over the National Accountability Burau (NAB) on 13-day physical remand in liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) scandal, ARY News reported on Friday.

Khaqan Abbasi was taken under custody by NAB team while en-route on Thokar Niaz Baig road on Thursday, over liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) scandal.

The former premier was presented before the court of Judge Muhammad Bashir. The NAB sought 14-day remand of the former prime minister, however, the judge granted remand of 13 days..

The former prime minister is facing charges of corruption and awarding a LNG import contract at exorbitant rates in 2015, which caused big loss to the national exchequer. Sources said that he had granted a tender worth Rs220 bn to a firm in which he himself was a shareholder.

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.

Earlier on April 26, the names of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail and five others had been placed in exit control list in an inquiry into the LNG scandal.