Pak interim PM nominee faces ?13,000 crore corruption probe
Pakistan's interim Prime Minister nominee Shahid Abbasi, who most recently served as the country's Petroleum Minister, faces an inquiry over corruption in an over ?13,000-crore LNG (Liquefied natural gas) contract. Abbasi is accused of misusing his authority and causing a potential loss of ?12,000 crore to the national exchequer over 15 years.
By Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Jul 31 (PTI) The ruling PML-N partys interim prime minister nominee Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is facing a Rs 220 billion corruption inquiry by Pakistans National Accountability Bureau over an LNG contract, according to a media report. Abbasi, the former minister for petroleum and natural resources, is the principal accused in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case registered in 2015 over the award of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract, Dawn News reported. Other suspects in the case include former petroleum secretary Abid Saeed, Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) managing director Mobin Saulut, private firm Engros chief executive officer Emranul Haq and the Sui Southern Gas Companys (SSGC) ex-MD Zuhair Ahmed Siddiqui, the report said. Abbasi is expected to be elected as the new prime minister by Pakistans Parliament tomorrow, replacing ousted premier Nawaz Sharif. The Supreme Court on Friday disqualified 67-year-old Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal, forcing the embattled leader out of office. After Sharifs disqualification, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominated Abbasi as its candidate for the prime ministers post for an interim period before Punjab Chief Minister and Nawazs brother Shehbaz Sharif replaces him for the remaining 10 months of the governments term. According to NAB documents, the contract for the LNG import and distribution was awarded to the Elengy Terminal, a subsidiary of Engro, in 2013 in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws. The bureau registered the case on July 29, 2015, but it is still in the inquiry stage, contrary to NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhrys claim that he has introduced a new strategy under which the process of complaint verification, inquiry, investigation and filing of reference takes 10 months, the report said. It appears that like several cases of the Sharif family, this one has also been dumped by the NAB, it said. The case was registered on the complaint of Shahid Sattar, an energy expert and former member of the Planning Commission and the SSGC board of directors, along with others, accusing Abbasi of misusing his authority and causing a potential USD 2 billion loss to the national exchequer in 15 years. The NAB documents said that it had been recommended that the names of all accused in the case, including that of Abbasi, should be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) and the process was ongoing, the report said. 