ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday rejected the appeal of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking issuance of a non-bailable arrest warrant for former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in connection with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project.
The national exchequer had suffered a loss of billions of rupees, the NAB said in 2018 after ordering the inquiry against Abbasi, his predecessor Nawaz Sharif and others for granting a 15-year LNG terminal contract “to a company of their liking, in violation of rules and by misuse of their powers”.
During the proceedings Thursday, defense counsel Barrister Zafarullah Khan submitted a request seeking an exemption from a personal appearance. At this, the bureau asked the judge to issue arrest warrants for the former premier.
The NAB prosecutor maintained Abbasi travelled abroad without taking prior permission. However, the defense counsel recalled a sub-committee of the federal cabinet granted a one-time waiver to his client.
The accountability court sought details of the waiver. After it was presented in the court, the bench dismissed NAB’s plea to issue arrest warrants.
In December, Abbasi left for the US after the federal cabinet removed his name from the Exit Control List (ECL), granting him one-time permission to his sister and brother-in-law suffering from the coronavirus.
As petroleum minister when Sharif was premier, Abbasi masterminded the government’s push to embrace LNG after PML-N swept to power in a 2013 election.
After NAB filed the reference against him and Sharif, Abbasi said he took full responsibility for work at the petroleum ministry as the deposed premier had “no direct responsibility for the workings of my ministry”.
“I welcome any inquiry by NAB or any other agency into the affairs of the ministry and I am available to cooperate with any such inquiry,” he had said.
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