ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Ahsan Iqbal and Shahiq Khaqan Abbasi in the Narowal Sports Complex and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cases respectively.
The bails to Iqbal and Abbasi were granted against bonds worth Rs10 million each in the cases against them and the two-member bench of the IHC, under Chief Justice IHC Athar Minullah, heard both the cases today and after granting bail directed the PML-N leaders to submit surety bonds worth Rs 10 million each.
The court inquired from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB): In the hearing, Additional Prosecutor General NAB opposed the bail of Iqbal, saying that if the suspect is granted bail then it can disrupt the case’s record.
During the arguments in the sports city case, Justice Minallah remarked that arresting a suspect to interrogate him shows incompetence on the part of the investigation officer and a suspect is innocent until the crime is proven against him.
The APG NAB then said that if the PML-N leader submits his passport and appears when summoned by the court then he has no objection.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was arrested in December by the NAB as he appeared before it in relation to the corruption case.
NAB had begun investigating the complex in July 2018. It was built at the staggering cost of over Rs3,000 million.
The NAB investigation team also visited the Narowal Sports City project in November to secure records.
The mega venture was one of the primary projects developed under former minister for planning Ahsan Iqbal during the PML-N’s tenure.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi gets bail in LNG case
IHC Justice Minallah heard the LNG terminal case on Tuesday, against the former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
During the hearing, the judge stated that in the case Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules do not apply as public funds weren’t used.
“If in the matter public funds weren’t used then what is your case built upon?” said the judge.
To which the Additional Prosecutor NAB said that Abbasi abused his authority in the LNG terminal project, adding that the ministry handled the entire process, even excluding OGRA.
The court subsequently granted bail to Abbasi against bonds worth Rs10 million.
Last year, the Nab had arrested Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in an alleged case of corruption while awarding a multi-billion rupee import contract for LNG in 2013, when he was the minister for petroleum and natural resources.
During the hearing National Accountability Bureau (NAB) failed to give any solid argument for keeping the two stalwarts of PML-N in custody.
The August Court remarked that NAB has turned into an institution og kidnapping for ransome.
The Court during today’s hearing raised questions like:
“Why were Ahsan Iqbal and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrested?
“Why should Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi be kept in prison if the investigation is completed?
“How can Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi be deprived of representation when people voted for them?
“Why are those people being punished who voted for Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi?”
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said in his remarks that the PML-N leaders cannot be kept under custody without any reason and barring them unnecessarily is misuse of power.
Read more: LNG case: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi files bail plea in IHC
