National Accountability Bureau (NAB), on Saturday, directed former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, to submit all details of his assets till March 26 in the LNG contract scandal.
The anti-corruption watchdog also issued a notice to Abbasi, warning him of possible sentence for not cooperating with the bureau.
The NAB, on directives from the top court on September 10, 2018, completed the inquiry against Abbasi and others accused of corruption in the LNG contract.
Abbasi has been alleged of awarding the contract for the LNG import and distribution to the Elengy Terminal, a subsidiary of Engro, in 2013, and others including Tri-partial agreement, LSA with EETPL and LNG import from Qatar during his stint as the minister for petroleum and natural resources.
In June 2018, the bureau approved an inquiry against former premier Nawaz Sharif and ex-minister Abbasi, for granting the contract of LNG terminal to their ‘favourite’ company for 15 years in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws. It was also observed that this contract had allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
In January, the NAB had interrogated former finance minister, Miftah Ismail, in the same case.
Published in Daily Times, March 10th 2019.
