NAB seeks ex-PM Abbasi’s asset details in LNG scam

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RAWALPINDI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday summoned the asset details of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in connection with the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case against him.

The anti-corruption watchdog has directed the former PM to submit all documents on his assets and warned him that he can be sentenced for not cooperating with the accountability team.

In September 2018, the apex court had directed NAB to complete the inquiry against Abbasi and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG contract.

In June 2018, the NAB approved inquiry against former premier Nawaz Sharif and Abbasi, who was the former minister for petroleum and natural resources at that time, for granting contract of LNG terminal for 15 years to their ‘favourite’ company.

It was also observed that this contract had allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.

The PML-N government in its tenure from 2013-2018 completed two LNG terminals, while just days before completion of its term, on May 31, it stopped the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) from going ahead with bidding for the allocation of a site for constructing a third terminal.

The NAB in January interrogated former finance minister Miftah Ismail in the same case.

According to NAB documents, the contract for the LNG import and distribution was awarded to the Elengy Terminal, a subsidiary of Engro, in 2013 in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.