ISLAMABAD – An accountability court in the federal capital acquitted former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-finance minister Miftah Ismail and others in LNG contract scam case.
The development comes after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) withdrew the graft reference against the former premier, who has since long been calling for abolishing the anti-corruption watchdog over political victimization.
Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi is also among the suspects, who been acquitted in the case.
In 2019, NAB Rawalpindi filed a reference in the Liquefied Natural Gas import contract case against 10 accused, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail and former Pakistan State Oil managing director Sheikh Imranul Haq.
The accountability bureau had submitted the reference in an accountability court in Islamabad.
The reference had alleged that one company received benefits of over Rs21 billion between March 2015 and September 2019. Additionally, the reference stated that the national exchequer will suffer a loss of Rs47bn by 2029 because of the contract.
