Ex-PM Abbasi, former petroleum secretary granted protective bail

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted protective bail to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a case related to alleged illegal appointments at the Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

Chief Justice Athar Minallah headed a two-member bench and heard the applications and granted bail for three weeks. The bench also approved protective bail of former petroleum secretary Arshad Mirza in the same case.

The counsel for the former prime minister stated that an accountability court in Karachi has issued non-bailable warrants for his client’s arrest, adding he could not travel to Karachi due to the lockdown within the stipulated time period. He requested the bench to grant protective bail so that his client can travel to Karachi to attend the trial court’s hearing.

On March 30, the Islamabad High Court had granted protective bail for four weeks to Abbasi and former petroleum secretary Arshad Mirza in a case pertaining to alleged illegal appointments of the managing director and deputy managing director of PSO.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference for appointing Sheikh Imranul Haq as managing director and Yaqoob Sattar as deputy managing director of PSO allegedly in violation of rules and regulations.

NAB accused Abbasi of misusing authority causing a loss of Rs138.96 million to the exchequer. Former finance minister Miftah Ismail and former PSO managing director Sheikh Imranul Haq have also been nominated as accused in this case.

Abbasi was arrested in connection with the case in July last year. He is accused of awarding a contract for an LNG terminal allegedly when he was petroleum minister in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet. The Islamabad High Court had granted bail to Abbasi in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) reference on February 25.