CEOs’ appointments made on merit, Khaqan tells NAB

ISLAMABAD: Former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has told the country’s top corruption watchdog body that he and his ministry made appointments of CEOs on merit in public limited companies.

Abbasi was responding to NAB’s questionnaire which sought information under Section 19 of NAO, 1999 in an inquiry against officers/officials of government who according to the bureau were illegally appointed by his ministry in public companies and provision of funds in billions of rupees in violation of relevant rules.

In response to the first question pertaining to alleged illegal appointment of Adnan Gilani at the top post in Pakistan LNG Limited, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “My first meeting with Adnan Gilani was in 2015 when he was a team leader of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit. I remain unaware of the context of this question as I did not receive a copy of the complaint from NAB.”

He told NAB that Gilani had exceptional academic credentials and over 20 years of senior level international experience in finance and energy.

The NAB team claimed that the-then prime minister Nawaz Sharif raised serious observations during the appointment of Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan LNG Limited, Adnan Gilani, in 2016. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told NAB that he “personally discussed the issues in detail with the-then secretary to the prime minister to address the observations made in the Prime Minister’s Office letter dated March 14, 2016; and especially to confirm that the process was not skewed, was transparent and open to all applicants. The Prime Minister’s Office, in its wisdom, vide its letter dated June 2, 2016, desired that the ministry undertake a fresh selection process for appointment of the CEO PLL.”

In December 2020, NAB, through its director Saleem Ahmed Khan, asked Abbasi to appear before its investigation team on January 10, 2021. "The inquiry has revealed that you [Abbasi] remained the minister for petroleum and natural resources and prime minister of Pakistan, involved in selection and appointment of Adnan Gilani to Pakistan LNG Limited as chief operating officer and subsequently as chief executive officer during 2013-2018 period, which related to commission of the said [NAB Ordinance] offence," read the notice.

NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal gave go ahead for an inquiry against alleged illegal appointments of CEOs in public limited companies in 2018. Later on in July last year, NAB filed a reference and a supplementary reference against Abbasi, his son Abdullah Abbasi, Miftah Ismail, ex-chairman PQA Agha Jan Akhtar, ex-chairman OGRA Saeed Khan, ex-chairperson of OGRA Uzma Adil Khan, ex-MD PSO Shahid Islam, ex-MD PSO Imran-ul-Haq and others.

Abbasi further told NAB that Azam Sufi, CEO, Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited, was removed from his position by the PLTL Board of Directors due to non-performance in exercise of the powers vested with the BOD under the SECP regulations. A panel of three candidates was considered eligible and selected by the PLL BOD through an extensive short-listing process from 131 applications received for the CEO PLL position; the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources had no reason to question this panel or consider it to be a deficient panel, Abbasi further informed the NAB. The selection process for the CEO, Pakistan LNG Limited, is the responsibility, and was handled as required by SECP regulations and there was no deviation from the required procedures, Abbasi informed the NAB. On a question why Gilani was appointed as the CEO a month after the rejection of his nomination on serious observations, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “I am sure that the PLL BOD in its wisdom considered it logical that a candidate who was eligible and shortlisted for the CEO PLL position, and who had also applied for the COO position should be eligible for appointment as the COO PLL.”

Gilani has already vehemently rebutted all allegations saying, "I applied for the position of CEO of PLL in response to an open, competitive, international advertisement published by the Ministry of Petroleum.”