Islamabad accountability court has revoked the non-bailable arrest warrant for the ex-prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) reference.
On Tuesday, Judge Nasir Javed Rana gave the decision after the former premier neglected to show up for the LNG reference hearing and did not submit a request for leave either.
Afterward, the PML-N leader’s attorney Zafarullah submitted a motion to revoke the warrants.
The court granted the plea and revoked the warrants for Abbasi and former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) chairperson Uzma Adil Khan.
Earlier, Abbasi, Uzma, Miftah Ismail, and others were accused of having awarded the LNG Terminal-1 contract without following due process and transparent means.
Abbasi and the others were charged with violating the law when they allegedly gave the 15-year contract for the LNG terminal to a business of their choice.
The investigation into the LNG contract case began in 2019, about one and a half years after the NAB Karachi office ended a related investigation into Abbasi for his alleged role in the awarding of a multibillion-rupee contract for the import and distribution of LNG.
IHC later granted Abbasi bail in 2021, stating that the matter did not fall under the purview of the NAB because the senior PML-N member had not received any financial benefit.
Moreover, a high court appeal to alter the PML-N leader’s indictment in the LNG matter is also pending.
