Shahid Khaqan fails to appear before NAB in LNG case

Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi excused himself from appearing before National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Rawalpindi registry on Friday in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case.

NAB had summoned Abbasi before it two days ago and ordered him to appear on February 8 (today), however, the bureau was informed that Abbasi could not appear as he was abroad. The former premier said that he will appear before the bureau on February 18 after he returns to the country, local media reported.

NAB has alleged that Abbasi had misused his authority when he was the petroleum minister. NAB has accused him and few others of illegally awarding the LNG terminal contract to a company of their liking for a 15-year period. This contract had caused $2 billion loss to the national exchequer.

The contract was awarded to a company in 2013 which was a violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's rules and laws. The case was registered in 2015, on the complaint of Shahid Sattar, an energy expert and former member of the Planning Commission and the Sui Southern Gas Company board of directors.