An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday extended the physical remand of former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) chairman Tauqir Sadiq for 10 more days.
Amid tight security, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced the accused before Accountability CourtIslamabad
During the hearing, the NAB investigators requested the court to give a 14-day further extension in the remand of the accused.
Sadiq, who is facing Rs 82 billion corruption charges, told the court that he was being tortured by the NAB investigators. He had earlier alleged that the NAB investigators led by Waqas Khan were threatening to severely torture him. He said he was being wrongly implicated in the case.
Through his counsel, the accused requested the court for a judicial remand. However, the NAB sought a 14-day extension in his physical remand.
The judge extended the physical remand of the accused for further 10 days.
Previously, Supreme Court after declaring Sadiq’s appointment as OGRA chairman illegal on November 25, 2012 had ordered the NAB to arrest him. However, the accused, who is a close relative of Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) senior leader Jahangir Badr, in connivance with some influential politicians managed to flee the country although his name was on the Exit Control List. Later, he was declared as proclaimed offender and brought back by the NAB from Dubai
Besides other corruption charges Sadiq was also accused of converting the operating income of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines(SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) into non-operating income, resulting in Rs 38 billion additional burden on consumers and eroding the gas development surcharge. He was also accused of receiving heavy kickbacks from various projects in OGRA.
