Ex-PM Abbasi remanded to NAB custody till Aug 1

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 13 days physical remand of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the LNG corruption reference.

The NAB officials produced Abbasi before Accountability Court-I Judge Muhammad Bashir following his arrest on Thursday.On a query by the judge with regard to Abbasi’s lawyer, the former prime minister said he was representing himself before the court. He said he wanted the court to remand him in the NAB custody for 90 days so that he could brief the bureau regarding the LNG project in detail, saying the NAB still could not understand that case.

Abbasi requested the court to allow him to eat his homemade food during the NAB custody, which was rejected by the judge who remarked that the NAB would ensure provision of food as per his choice. The court directed the NAB to produce the accused on August 1.

According to the NAB, Abbasi is accused of commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under section 9 (a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. Abbasi is facing the accusation of handing over a tender worth Rs 220 billion to a company in which he was a shareholder.