A two-member bench comprising Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervez adjourned the hearing in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal's post-arrest bail hearing till February 13 and warned the anti-graft watchdog that the high court will not entertain request for any more delay.
Abbasi's lawyer informed the bench that his client has been detained for over 200 days. "He is being deprived of fundamental rights."
When the bureau asserted that it would submit reply within three to four days, the bench directed NAB to submit response in the next hearing.
Raising objections on NAB's request seeking time, Iqbal's counsel Tariq Jahangir lamented that the bureau dismisses need to detain suspects before the courts but "issues warrants" right after.
Justice Minallah observed that the investigation agency was empowered by an apex court verdict to detain suspects. "If the suspect believes the NAB chairman is abusing his power then they may claim damages."
Bail pleas
The bail plea filed by PML-N lawyer Barrister Zafarullah on behalf of Abbasi maintained that he was a vocal advocate of the supremacy of the Constitution, parliamentary democracy, fair electoral process and rule of law.
It added that the former prime minister was critical of the incumbent government’s incompetence and emphasised that he was imprisoned due to political views and is a “prisoner of conscience”. In his petition, Abbasi stressed on NAB’s “selective accountability” that led to reopening of the case.
Similarly, the bail plea filed by Azam Nazeer Tarar on behalf of Iqbal, maintains that the allegations are “false, frivolous and absurd” and the former planning minister has been arrested due to “political victimisation being the secretary-general” of the ruling party’s main opposition.
The petition argues that the anti-graft watchdog has “no evidence” against Iqbal.
Case background
Behind bars for over 190 days, Abbasi is being investigated for allegedly awarding a 15-year contract for a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal to a Qatari company in violation of rules and of causing losses to the national exchequer during his tenure as the petroleum minister in the cabinet of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The case, closed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in 2016, was reopened in 2018.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Pakistan saved more than $600 million “over the first 10 years of a natural gas supply deal by pitting some of the world’s biggest sellers against each other”.
“The maneuvering by Pakistan came after two years of negotiations hit an impasse as Qatar refused to lower its offer price for LNG. So Pakistan sought leverage on the open market in late 2015, publicly seeking 120 cargoes in two large tenders," the business newspaper said of the deal negotiated by Abbasi.
It may be mentioned here that the former prime minister has approached the Islamabad High Court for a post-bail petition.
Won’t beg for production order, Abbasi tells speaker
On the other hand, Iqbal is seeking post-arrest bail in the Narowal Sports City project case. The PML-N leader was arrested on December 23 2019 for allegedly using funds from the federal government and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for the multi-billion rupee project in his hometown.
Iqbal maintains that the funds spent on the NSC were approved by the then federal cabinet, Parliament and the National Economic Council. He said the project’s plan was revised and expanded.
The bail plea filed by Azam Nazeer Tarar, maintains that the allegations are “false, frivolous and absurd” and Iqbal has been arrested due to “political victimisation being the secretary general” of the ruling party’s main opposition.
The petition argues that the anti-graft watchdog has “no evidence” against Iqbal.
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