Court dismisses acquittal pleas of co-accused in LNG reference

ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court (AC) on Tuesday dismissed the acquittal pleas of co-accused in LNG reference filed against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and others.

The court instructed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present its witnesses for testimony on next hearing and continue the trial. AC-II Judge Muhammad Azam Khan announced the decision on acquittal pleas of co-accused including Uzma Adil, Ameen Rajput and others. Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others appeared before the court during the hearing. At the outset of hearing, the court announced verdict after listening arguments from both sides.

It may be mentioned here that ex-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Miftah Ismail had not filed acquittal pleas before court. The petitioners had prayed the court to dismiss the case adopting the stance that it didn’t fall under jurisdiction of accountability court after the amendments in NAB ordinance.