indo–asian news service
Islamabad, July 31: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee for the post of interim Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, is facing a Rs 220 billion corruption inquiry by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract.
Abbasi, the former Petroleum Minister, is a principal accused in a NAB case registered in 2015, Dawn newspaper reported.
The other suspects in the case are former Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed, Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) Managing Director Mobin Saulut, private firm Engro’s Chief Executive officer Emranul Haq and the Sui Southern Gas Company’s (SSGC) ex-MD Zuhair Ahmed Siddiqui.
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.
The case was registered on the complaint of Shahid Sattar, an energy expert and former member of the Planning Commission and the SSGC board of directors.
It is still under an investigation contrary to NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry’s claim that he had introduced a new strategy under which the process of complaint verification, inquiry, investigation and filing of reference took 10 months, said the newspaper.
Sattar had accused Abbasi of misusing his authority and causing a potential $2 billion loss to the national exchequer in 15 years.
Pak Oppn fails to choose candidate
Islamabad: Pakistan opposition members Monday failed to arrive at a consensus on a single candidate for the interim Prime Minister following Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panamagate case. President Mamnoon Hussain has called a session of the National Assembly Tuesday for the election of an interim Prime Minister, Dawn reported. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s nominee Shahid Khaqan Abbasi submitted his nomination papers to Parliament Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik Monday. Abbasi, who was chosen by the PML-N party unanimously, said once elected, he would continue with the policies of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
