The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday issued notices to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in bail pleas of former prime minister and member of the National Assembly Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and MNA Ahsan Iqbal. A division bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervez heard the bail pleas. Abbasi who has been behind bars since July 18, 2019, filed his bail plea in the LNG terminal reference and adopted that he has not been indicted in the said reference despite being in captivity for the past over six months.

Ahsan Iqbal also moved the court seeking post-arrest bail in the Narowal Sports City project case.

After hearing their petitions, the bench issued notices to the NAB and deferred hearing till February 10. The petition of Abbasi said that former finance minister Dr Miftah Ismail and ex-managing director of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Imran-ul-Haque had already been granted bail in the same case.

It said that Abbasi held the portfolio of the prime minister and minister for petroleum and natural resources and is a graduate of the University of California, with a degree in engineering; and has a postgraduate degree in engineering management from George Washington University, Washington DC. Elected to the Lower House of Parliament from NA-124 (Lahore-II), Abbasi had been sent to Rawalpindi's Adiala jail on judicial remand in the reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the petition said. The petition added that under his [Abbasi's] tenure, Pakistan became surplus in natural gas and finally achieved an electricity surplus in November 2017, after facing power crisis for well over a decade. The Foreign Direct Investment increased up to 87 per cent due to the interest of the government and full commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The manufacturing industry saw growth of 9.64pc during the tenure of the PML-N government.