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ISLAMABAD: The Executive Board of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday approved an inquiry against former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, former Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for allegedly awarding a 15-year contract to a ‘favoured’ company for construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal by allegedly misusing their powers and violating rules and regulation.
This decision was taken of NAB’s executive board’s meeting and issued as a press release on Wednesday.
The meeting of NAB’s Executive Board was held in Islamabad on Wednesday with retired Justice Javed Iqbal in the chair. The meeting observed that it had caused loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
The meeting also considered initiating an investigation against former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for the 15 year contract signed on 10 February 2016 with Qatargas and he is likely to be summoned by NAB, informed sources told Business Recorder.
The anti-watchdog authority decided to question former prime ministers’ Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif over alleged misuse of authority in the multi-million dollar LNG terminal project.
NAB’s spokesperson Asim Ali Nawazish said that the two politicians inflicted a massive loss to the national exchequer, accusing both of awarding LNG contract to their ‘favoured’ company, in violation of merit.
The Supreme Court on February 12, 2018 dismissed Sheikh Rasheed’s petition seeking a NAB inquiry against Abbasi as well as his disqualification from Parliament over the LNG contract.
The three-member Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, had ruled that the case may be taken at the appropriate forum, namely the NAB.
After it, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed met the NAB Chairman on February 21 and submitted details of alleged corruption in the award of a contract for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) when Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the federal petroleum minister.
The meeting of Executive Board of NAB also approved investigation against former Chief Minister Sindh, former Secretary Culture and Tourism and others in giving contracts against the rules, causing a loss of 127 million rupees to the national exchequer.
The meeting also approved inquires against former Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, relevant secretaries, Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Chiniot and the administration of Ramzan Sugar Mills Chiniot. They are alleged to have caused a huge loss to the national exchequer.
The meeting also approved to launch corruption reference against former Chairman Karachi Port Trust retired Vice Admiral Ahmad Hayat, and former General Manager KPT retired Brigadier Syed Jamshed Zaidi.
Addressing the meeting, NAB Chairman said corruption is a cancer that needs to be rooted out from the country. He directed to make scrutiny, inquiries and investigations of all complaints to their logical conclusion on the basis of law, merit, transparency and solid evidence.
