ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Tuesday said the government should take the parliament into confidence over its policy devised in wake of the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
Talking to reporters after appearing before Accountability Court in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case against him and others, Khaqan said that the present government policy with regard to Afghanistan would keep affecting Pakistan for a long time.
"Pakistan is bearing the brunt of Afghanistan war for the last 40 years; therefore, the government needs to devise a comprehensive policy regarding Afghanistan and it should be placed before the parliament for discussion and then it should be executed," he said, adding that the issue of Afghanistan is very complicated and it would have a huge impact on our country.
He said that Afghanistan is a neighbouring country; therefore, we need to build relations with Afghanistan as per decisions of the people of Afghanistan.
About his case, he said that for the last three years he is demanding installation of cameras in the Accountability Court, so that the people could watch and know about what is happing in these courts.
He said that a reference had been filed against him and other for allegedly awarding LNG Terminal-I contract against rules but there is no allegation of corruption against him.
I have earlier stated that if the contract of LNG Terminal-I was awarded against the rules then cancel it, he said. Abbasi further said that despite allegation of awarding the contract of LNG Terminal-I against rules, the present government wants to award contract of additional gas through the same terminal.
"If the contract was awarded against rules then why they want to award contract of additional gas through the same terminal," he questioned.
The former premier alleged that Pakistan's loses billions of dollars every month under the head of LNG.
"The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) does not see billions of dollars incurred by the country under the head of LNG," he said, adding that the NAB chairman is busy to get extension to further destroy the country.
He asked the chairman NAB to conduct probe of the present government to know about the facts.
"You did not see billions of dollars stolen under your nose," he further asked the NAB chairman.
Earlier, he and other accused appeared before Accountability Court-II judge Muhammad Azam Khan in the LNG case.
The court recorded the statement of prosecution witness Farhan Umer.
The witness produced various documents before the court including retaining summary year 2 as per 3rd party audit report and detail of the IDLE days EPTL terminal.
The defence counsel, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, while objecting to the documents presented by the witness said that the chart does not fall under the meaning of primary and secondary evidence under Qanun-e-Shahadat Order. The court adjourned hearing of the case till September 1.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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