The Accountability Court on Monday extended physical remand of former finance minister Miftah Ismail and former managing director Pakistan States Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imran-ul-Haq till August 30 in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) scam. The NAB officials produced Ismail and Haq before Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir on expiry of term of their physical remands.
The NAB prosecutor requested the court to extend physical remand of the accused for another 14 days to conduct further investigation from them. The NAB prosecutor also submitted progress report of previous remand. The NAB prosecutor while arguing before the court said the contract of the LNG terminal had been awarded at higher rates which incurred huge loss to national exchequer.
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for former MD PSO, while objecting to NAB's request said that unreasonable charge had been levelled against his client and NAB had no concrete evidence to prove it. He said that that was a baseless case and was made to pressurise his client. They should inform the court about the documents through which they had confronted his client so far during the custody, he said.
On this the NAB prosecutor told the court that they had complete evidence to prove the case and submitted a report before the court in that regard. Raja also requested the court that his client should also be provided with all the facilities which had been provided to other accused persons. Ismail's counsel Haider Waheed also objected to the NAB's request and urged the court to reject the same. He said Ismail was working as a non-executive director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) when the deal for LNG was being finalised and non-executive director has no executive role.
Waheed said that an eight-member committee was constituted for determining rates and his client was one of its members. The committee which had prepared RP documents had neither appointed his client nor did he supervise it, he said.
He told the court that the NAB in its statement on May 30 in the high court had said that it had completed investigation from his client and would not arrest him.
"My client had submitted response to a detailed questionnaire handed over to him by NAB a few months ago," he said, adding Ismail had nothing to do with the documents demanded by NAB from him. He said NAB was pressuring his client to make him an approver in the case.
During the hearing, Ismail complained that the NAB had detained him in a small cell and he was only allowed for 23 minutes walk outside the room. "If I walk two minutes more than 23 minutes, I am instructed to go inside the room," he added. He requested the court to direct NAB to conduct one hour investigation from him on daily basis.
The court after hearing the arguments extended remand of Ismail and Haq till August 30.
The NAB had arrested Ismail and Haq after Islamabad High Court rejected their bail applications in connection with illegal award of LNG terminal-1 to Engro Energy Terminal Private Limited.