An accountability court on Thursday has extended physical remand of the former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi till August 15 in liquefied natural gas (LNG) case.
The judge asked the former prime minister to hire a lawyer so that he can oppose the NAB’s plea for extension in physical remand.
Abbasi told the judge that he has decided to defend himself.
The apex court on September 10, 2018, directed the NAB to complete the inquiry against Abbasi and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG reference.
In June 2018, the NAB approved inquiry against former premier Nawaz Sharif and Abbasi. As the minister for petroleum and natural resources, he has been accused of granting contract on LNG Terminal to ETPL, Tri-partial agreement, LSA with EETPL and LNG import from Qatar, etc.
It was also observed that this contract had allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
In January, the NAB 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.
