Shahid Khaqan makes important announcement on Army Act today

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Acting President of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will make an important announcement regarding the amendments in Army Act currently under consideration in the National Assembly today (Monday) as he will appear in the NAB court and subsequently attend the National Assembly session in the afternoon.

He has been implicated in a disputed LNG case for misuse of authority by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and he has been detained in Adiala prison Rawalpindi since July last when he was arrested in Lahore by the bureau. The NAB has yet to submit complete reference against him in the court while the NAB is obtaining judicial remand of the former prime minister in interim reference which is before the NAB court.

Well-placed sources told The News here Sunday that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been declining to submit bail application since he has been pleading to contest the case in order to demolish the position of the NAB before the trial court. He has undergone two surgeries in the gap of few weeks after being consigned to the prison. He underwent gallbladder’s surgery last week and was still in hospital for follow up treatment.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who appointed incumbent Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi in his capacity as Chief Executive of the country in October 2017, had been opposing the grant of extension in service to the Services Chiefs. He had also insisted that the question of Army Act amendment should be sorted out seriously and must be settled with consensus.

The sources said that the PML-N leaders and Abbasi family have approached Shahid Khaqan to give his consent for submitting bail application and impressed upon him to do so due to health reasons. He was kept with condemned prisoners in Adiala jail and denied facilities entitle to him, but he didn’t grumble about it.

The sources said that in case Shahid Khaqan insisted and refused to apply for bail, any of his close kin would move the court for the purpose.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan is appearing as his counsel in the NAB court and it is likely that an application would be moved for quashing of the reference proceedings against Shahid Abbasi soon.

The sources said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who is acting President of the PML-N in the absence of Shahbaz Sharif will have meeting with parliamentary group leaders in the National Assembly before the commencement of the proceedings of the House on Monday.