ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court on Wednesday transferred Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case against the former prime minister and senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (Nawaz), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and former finance minister Miftah Ismail, to the court of special judge central.

Accountability Court judge Muhammad Bashir, while announcing the judgment he had reserved on the plea filed by Abbasi and others, in which they had challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the court in view of the amendments made in the NAB law, declared that the instant references did not fall under the ambit of this court after the promulgation of the National Accountability amendment ordinance. He transferred it to the court special judge central.

The Special Judge Central hears the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cases. The court had reserved the verdict after both the defence and the prosecution completed their arguments on the applications filed by the accused of the LNG case against Abbasi, his son and the former finance minister, and others, in which, they challenged the jurisdiction of the NAB court.

During the previous hearings, the NAB prosecutor told the court that following the amendments in the NAB law the same case falls under the jurisdiction of the FIA; therefore, the trial of the LNG case be transferred to the court of Special Judge Central, Islamabad.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023