An Accountability Court on Friday extended judicial remand of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi till March 9 in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case. The jail authorities produced the former premier and senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Abbasi, before Accountability Court judge Azam Khan, on expiry of his judicial remand.
At the start of the hearing, NAB prosecutor Usman Mirza told the court that the arrest warrant of the accused former managing director (MD) Pakistan States Oil (PSO) Shahid Muzaffarul Islam was issued on his available address, but he was not available there.
"The NAB has also sent arrest warrant on the address mentioned on Islam's computerized national identity card (CNIC)," he said, adding that detail and final report regarding compliance of arrest warrant would be presented before the court at the next hearing.
Mirza requested the court that after receiving the final report it initiates the process of declaring the accused a proclaimed offender. The court could exclude Muzaffarul Islam's name from the reference by issuing his permanent warrants, he said.
Mirza said if the court desired, it could issue permanent arrest warrant of Islam and exclude him from the reference. Other accused should be indicted after excluding Islam from the trial, the prosecutor said.
Abbasi's counsel Barrister Zafarullah objecting to the NAB request, said that how could one's name be excluded from the case in an incomplete trial? He said the NAB had stated that his client, Abbasi had committed crime along with Islam.
The court issued directives to provide copies of the references to all the accused.
The court after hearing arguments from both the parties marked attendance, extended Abbasi's judicial remand, and adjourned the hearing till March 9.
Meanwhile, Abbasi, while talking to reporters after appearing before the court, said the rising inflation in the country would end with the departure of this government.
The issue of rising inflation could not be solved by leveling allegation against others and it was the responsibility of the federal government to control inflation in the country, the former prime minister said.
He said that about 20 people had been killed in Karachi but the government did not know about the cause of death. A government like this neither come in the past nor will another come again, Abbasi remarked sarcastically.
Other accused including former finance minister Miftah Ismail, Hussain Dawood, Agha Jan Akhtar, and Abdullah Dawood, did not appear before the court, as the court granted them permanent exemption from personnel appearance before it.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on December 26 granted bail to Miftah Ismail and he was released from Adiala Jail on bail after furnishing surety bonds worth Rs 10 million.
The NAB had filed LNG reference on December 12 before the Accountability Court and nominated nine accused including Abbasi, Ismail, ex-MD PSO Sheikh Imranul Haque, Agha Jan Akhtar, former chairman Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Saeed Ahmed Khan, former chairman Ogra, Aamir Naseem, former member oil Ogra, Uzma Adil Khan, chairperson Ogra, Shahid M Islam, former MD PSO, and Abdul Samad Dawood.
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