Shahid Khaqan Abbasi granted bail in LNG case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted bail to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case, ARY News reported. 

A two-member bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah heard the bail plea of PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in LNG case. The bench ordered the former minister to submit Rs10 million surety bond for bail.

The PML-N leader earlier this month filed a post-arrest bail petition in Islamabad High Court. The petition seeks the high court to approve the bail until completion of his trial in NAB’s LNG reference.

A copy of the court decision with regard to bail granted to Shaikh Imranul Haq, a co-accused in the LNG case, has also been attached with the petition.

“The petitioner has been in NAB detention for 191 days and the real motive of the accountability bureau is only to harass the petitioner,” the plea argued. It was initiated for his media trial, according to the plea

On the other hand, the IHC also approved the bail of PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal in Narowal Sports City case.

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 Shahid Khaqan 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