Arrest wArrAnt for AbbAsi in LnG cAse withdrAwn hours After issuAnce

iSLamabad

S ta f f R e p o R t fO R M E R prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi s non-bailable arrest warrants in the LNG terminal case were withdrawn by an accountability court, shortly after they were issued on Tuesday

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader had been issued the warrants for his failure to appear before the court in today’s hearing and for not filing an exemption plea However, his lawyer, Zafarullah, filed a petition to cancel the arrest warrant which was accepted by Judge Nasir Javed As a result, the arrest warrants against the former prime minister and coaccused Uzma Adil Khan the ex-chairperson of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), were withdrawn According to Abbasi’s lawyer the PMLN leader was on his way to the court but was delayed, which led to the warrant being is- sued

For His Failure To Appear On Time

In 2019, Abbasi was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on allegations of corruption in relation to the awarding of a multi-billion rupee import contract for liquefied natural gas (LNG) back in 2013 when he was the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources

A supplementary reference against Abbasi his son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi former finance minister Miftah Ismail, former CEO of Engro Elengy Terminal Private Lim- ited (EETPL) and MD of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), former chairman of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Board, former Chairman of Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Agha Jan Akhtar, former chairman of OGRA Saeed Ahmed Khan, chairman of Engro Corporation Husain Dawood among others was approved by the NAB chairman in 2020

The accusation against the accused was that they awarded the LNG Terminal-1 contract through a non-transparent process

The public office holders were accused