ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday (today) in a multi-billion-rupee case related to the award of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract.

“You are requested to appear on 18-07-2019 at 10am at NAB Islamabad before Investigation Officer Malik Zubair Ahmed, deputy director, for discussion and recording your statement being minister of petroleum and natural resources on LNG terminal,” said the NAB notice that was served to Mr Abbasi. “You are advised that failing with this notice may entail penal consequences as provided in serial 2 of the schedule of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.”

The notice says the competent authority has taken cognizance of an offence committed by Mr Abbasi under the provision of NAO 1999 on allegations of “deceitfully, fraudulently and dishonestly causing a loss to the national exchequer, misuse of authority, and obtaining pecuniary advantage through corrupt, dishonest and illegal means during the award of LNG Terminal-1. […] The investigations have revealed that you [Mr Abbasi] are in possession of information/evidence regarding award of LNG Terminal-1 to M/s EETPT [a private firm] etc which relates to the commission of the said offence.”

In April, the government imposed a travel ban on Mr Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, and five other persons in the same case. According to an earlier notification, the amount involved in the case was Rs36.969 billion.

Anti-graft body alleges irregularities in award of Karachi terminal contract

Mr Abbasi is accused of awarding a 15-year contract for a terminal against the rules while he was the petroleum minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The case was closed by NAB in 2016 but reopened in 2018.

Mr Abbasi appeared before NAB last month in the case after which the anti-graft watchdog recommended a travel ban on him. It has been learnt that last month NAB wrote a letter to the interior ministry saying that the former premier should be barred from leaving the country as an inquiry pertaining to LNG was under way against him.

Mr Abbasi had sought time from NAB to submit more records that had been demanded by the bureau, and said that the required record was available with the ministry of petroleum — not with him.

On Jan 2, the NAB executive board meeting authorised investigations against Mr Abbasi for his alleged involvement in irregularities in the import of LNG.

Mr Abbasi has said, several times in the recent past, that he did not commit any illegality and could prove his innocence before any forum. He has been of the view that the import of LNG was the need of the hour in 2013, when the country was facing an acute gas shortage.

This is the first NAB case against Mr Abbasi, who served as prime minister for almost a year following the removal of Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court on July 28, 2017.

During the last PML-N government, NAB Karachi, in its regional board meeting in Dec 2016, closed down the inquiry against Mr Abbasi. However, the then opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), opposed the decision claiming that “the inquiry was stopped despite the fact that it had been proved that the contract had been awarded in a non-transparent manner”.

The NAB inquiry had revealed that the management of Inter State Gas Systems and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) had, in a non-transparent manner, selected M/s Engro as a successful bidder for the LNG terminal at the port in Karachi. It found that the SSGCL signed the 15-year contract with a subsidiary company of Engro for the re-gasification of LNG at fixed daily processing charges.

The government authorised Pakistan State Oil to procure LNG on behalf of the SSGCL.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2019