Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probe team at the bureau’s office in Rawalpindi on Thursday after being summoned in scam related to the liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The NAB had summoned Abbasi as a former minister for petroleum and natural resources for recording his statement in ‘illegal’ award of an LNG contract with Qatar.
According to sources, Abbasi submitted his response to a questionnaire, which included queries related to the reason of necessity of the contract, the person who had approved the conditions of the contract, holding the ministry of petroleum while being the prime minister of the state, the number of visits to Qatar for formulating the contract, and how the contract was signed against rules and regulations, besides the misuse of authority for approval of the contract.
The PML-N leader refuted all allegations leveled against him and maintained that all contracts were signed in accordance with Pakistan’s constitution and the international laws.
He stated that the LNG was bought from Qatar due to energy crisis in Pakistan, and the rate at which it was purchased was lower than that being offered by other countries. Earlier, he had expressed fear that he might be arrested by the investigation team.
He rejected his connection with the Airblue Limited, a private Pakistani airline. The accountability watchdog had tightened the noose around Abbasi in the Airblue case. “I will appear before the NAB whenever I am summoned,” he said while talking to the media.
The NAB is probing a case filed against Abbasi in 2015 for allegedly awarding an LNG import contract at exorbitant rates, which caused a huge loss to the national exchequer.
