Court issues non-bailable arrest warrant for Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

An Islamabad accountability court on Tuesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana was hearing the LNG reference, however, Abbasi failed to appear before the court and no request for leave was filed by the former premier either.

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Similarly, co-accused former chairperson of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Uzma Adil Khan also remained absent from the proceedings.

The court, therefore, issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the two.

It may be noted that Abbasi and Adil are accused, alongside former finance minister Miftah Ismail and others, of having awarded the LNG Terminal-1 contract without following due process and transparent means.

Abbasi and the others were accused of illegally awarding the LNG terminal contract for a period of 15 years to a company of their liking in violation of rules.

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The inquiry into the LNG contract case was initiated in 2019, almost one-and-a-half year after the NAB Karachi office closed a similar inquiry against Abbasi for his alleged role in the award of a multi-billion rupee contract for the import and distribution of LNG.

Later, in 2021, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to the former prime minister in the case and noted that the matter did not fall in the domain of NAB as the senior PML-N leader had not made any financial gain.

A petition for the amendment of the indictment of the PML-N leader in the LNG reference is also pending with the high court.