No mishandling, I was about to mishandle expert brought by NAB: Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court, Islamabad on Thursday sent former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former finance minister Miftah Ismail to jail on judicial remand in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) reference.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday produced PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Miftah Ismail before accountability court and requested for the extension in their physical remand.

However, the accountability court rejected the NAB plea and granted judicial remand of the accused and sent them to jail.

The court has ordered to produce the accused on October 11. During hearing, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi submitted his nine-page written statement in the accountability court. In his statement, Abbasi stated that NAB had intimidated two officers to become approvers in the case.

He further said that there was no justice and requested the court to conduct an open trial so that people could know what was going on in the country.

Former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in this statement claimed that Pakistan’s LNG terminal is the world’s cheapest project and it’s working on its 100 percent capacity. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that NAB should prove his corruption. If he had taken money where it was. He said, “Government is doing media trail of opposition party members.” He said there is no justice in the courts. The country has been made ‘Banana Republic’. "This is political engineering", the PML-N leader said.

While having informal talk with media outside the court answering a question about manhandling during NAB investigation former PM said, "No there was no mishandling, I was about to mishandle the expert they had brought in. That NAB person deserved to be manhandled. I didn't manhandle him, but I should have," he said.

He was asked whether a glass was thrown at him, the former prime minister said, if it had been, no such act would go unanswered.

Abbasi is facing the accusation of handing over a tender worth Rs220 billion to a company in which he was himself a shareholder. As a Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, he has been accused of granting contract of LNG terminal to ETPL, tri-partial agreement, LSA with EETPL and LNG import from Qatar etc.

According to NAB in LNG corruption case, on September 10, 2018, Supreme Court directed the NAB to complete the inquiry against former PM Abbasi and others.

In June 2018, the NAB approved inquiry against former premier Nawaz Sharif and Abbasi.

According to the NAB arrest warrant, Abbasi is accused of commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under section 9 (a) of National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.