LNG case: NAB arrests Miftah Ismail as IHC rejects bail plea
LNG case: NAB arrests Miftah Ismail as IHC rejects bail plea.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has Wednesday arrested former Finance Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail and former Managing Director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imran-ul-Haq in the LNG case after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected their bail plea.
A two-member bench of the IHC conducted the hearing during which Miftah Ismail’s counsel took the stance that the anti-graft agency is misusing its authority which will be considered as dishonesty.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani inquired that was Miftah Ismail involved in price negotiations of the LNG contract, to which the lawyer answered that his client was one of the eight members of the committee which determined the rate.
LNG contract with Qatar was already finalized before Miftah Ismail assumed his office and the LNG terminal was constructed afterwards for which the incumbent government overpaid, the counsel argued.
The anti-corruption watchdog detained both leaders inside the court premises after the bail petition was turned down.
On July 25, the Islamabad High Court on Thursday granted interim bail to PML-N leader Miftah Ismail till August 1 in LNG case. The court ordered former finance minister to submit surety bonds of Rs 5 lacs.
In the next hearing, the interim bail petition of Miftah Ismail was extended by the IHC till August 7.
Case Background
The apex court on September 10, 2018 had directed the NAB to complete the inquiry against former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG contract.
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.
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, in 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.
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.
