ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog on Wednesday approved inquiries against former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi over a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) approved the inquiry against Nawaz and Abbasi “for granting a 15-year contract of LNG terminal to a company of their liking in violation of rules and by misuse of their powers, which caused the national exchequer a loss of billions of rupees.”
The bureau also announced the initiation of an inquiry against Shahbaz Sharif, younger brother of Nawaz Sharif and former chief minister of Punjab province, and others for incurring alleged losses to the national exchequer through misuse of authority.
Under the rules of NAB, it files a reference against the accused in relevant courts only after the watchdog finds enough evidence during the investigation of misuse of authority and/or corruption in any case.
The inquiry has been initiated against the former prime ministers just a week after their party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), completed its five-year term in office. The next general elections are scheduled to be held on July 25.
Abbasi signed off on the $16 billion LNG agreement for 15 years with Qatar in 2016 — when he was minister for petroleum and natural resources — to meet domestic energy requirements.
Briefing senators in October last year, Abbasi defended the agreement, calling it a “big achievement” for Pakistan. However, he claimed the full agreement could not be revealed due to a “commercial confidentiality clause.”
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, head of the Awami Muslim League (AML), petitioned the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Abbasi for alleged corruption in the LNG contract. But the court dismissed that petition in February this year, saying the matter should be taken to NAB for investigation.
He later filed the complaint with the bureau, seeking an investigation against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for alleged corruption of billions of rupees in the deal.
Other opposition parties, including Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had accused the then government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for hiding the LNG contract from public and corruption in the deal.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan, secretary information of the PML-N, termed the inquiries against the former prime ministers of the party as “pre-poll rigging” and part of a campaign to malign the party leadership before the elections.
“NAB cannot find even a single penny of corruption in the LNG deal with Qatar,” he told Arab News. “We are ready to present ourselves for accountability but this is a vendetta against Nawaz Sharif, not accountability.”
Khan defended the LNG contract with Qatar, saying that it helped address the energy crisis and improve the economy of Pakistan. “Before every election some forces get into action to obtain results of their choice, but this time they will not succeed,” he said.
“People are overwhelmingly supporting Nawaz Sharif and his party for the development he did in the last five years; and they would defeat the propaganda of corruption (against him) through their vote on the election day,” he said.
