National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday arrested former finance minister Miftah Ismail in connection with LNG scam after Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected his bail application. The NAB officials arrested Ismail and former Managing Director (MD) Pakistan States Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imran-ul-Haq from the court after IHC turned down their bail pleas in connection with an inquiry into illegal award of LNG terminal-1 to Engro Energy Terminal Private Limited.
The NAB will produce Ismail before the Accountability Court for obtaining his physical remand today (Thursday). A team of NAB on July 18 conducted a raid at Ismail's house after he failed to appear before it.
During the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who was heading a two-member bench, observed that the Supreme Court has set a standard for granting bail in NAB cases. "Bail in NAB cases can only be given in cases of hardship," the judge ruled, rejecting Ismail's petition. Ismail's counsel Haider Waheed said NAB was misusing its powers, which was against justice. He said NAB wanted to arrest his client for political purposes. Waheed further said Ismail was working as a non-executive director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) when the deal for LNG was being finalised.
When Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani inquired if Ismail had not negotiated rates in the LNG agreement, Waheed replied that an eight-member committee was constituted for determining rates and his client was one of its members. The decision to purchase LNG from Qatar had already been done by the time Ismail took charge of his office, he said, adding the country did not import LNG at higher rates during the tenure of his client. He said that another LNG terminal was established later and the present government had paid huge cost for it.
On this Justice Akhtar Kiyani asked, "Do you want to say if your client had incurred less loss and the present government has incurred huge loss to the national exchequer?"
Justice Kiyani further questioned if the people in the present government would be accused in future. "Those who will sign LNG deal today would be accused by tomorrow?" he further asked. NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said that NAB had asked the department concerned to provide summary of Terminal-III approved by the present government. On this the judge questioned if the government would have to take NOC (no-objection certificate) from chairman NAB before launching any project. "Will petroleum minister send the summary to chairman NAB instead of Prime Minister?" he further asked satirically.
The NAB prosecutor while objecting to the stance of defence counsel said the contract of the LNG terminal had been awarded at more than double rate than preferred rate. He said national exchequer had suffered a loss of Rs 1.54 billion so far due to the erroneous award of the contract. Former secretary Abid Saeed had become an approver in the case and he had disclosed Ismail's role before the investigators, he said. He requested the court to turn down bail applications of Ismail and Haq.
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