ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top anti-corruption body, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), on Thursday arrested former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a spokesman for the agency said.
Abbasi is a senior vice president of the opposition Pakistan Muslim-Nawaz (PML-N) party of Nawaz Sharif who is serving a seven year sentence for graft. He was arrested on his way to Lahore to address a news conference along with PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.
Last year, NAB ordered an inquiry into Abbasi over the alleged misappropriation of funds in the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that the agency says caused the national exchequer a loss of about $2 billion. He is also being investigated for allegedly granting a 15-year contract for an LNG terminal to a ‘favored’ company. Abbasi rejects the allegations.
“They said they were from the NAB and took away Shahid Khaqan Abbasi with them,” Ahsan Iqbal, a senior PML-N leader, told reporters in Lahore. He gave no details of the grounds for the arrest.
Abbasi has served as a federal minister for petroleum in former Sharif’s cabinet and finalized an LNG import deal with Qatar. He then served for less than a year as prime minister following the resignation of Sharif in 2017.
Khan won power last year vowing to root out corruption among what he says is a venal political elite and views the probes into veteran politicians — including Sharif and ex-President Asif Ali Zardari — as long overdue.
The National Accountability Bureau’s campaign has become a topic of fierce political debate in Pakistan and its focus so far on the new government’s political foes has prompted accusations it is a one-sided purge. The government denies targeting political opponents.
Former PM Abbasi arrested over allegation of corruption on Qatar gas deal
Former PM Abbasi arrested over allegation of corruption on Qatar gas deal
- Last year NAB ordered inquiry into Abbasi over liquefied natural gas terminal project
- An anti-graft crusade promoted by the government has led to swathes of arrests of politicians
Pakistan to introduce new navigation system to cut flight delays at Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral
- Pakistan Airports Authority says satellite-guided RNP-AR procedures will be in place by June 2026, pending a feasibility study
- The system is expected to reduce weather-related delays and cancelations in Pakistan’s most popular mountain destinations
KARACHI: Pakistan said on Sunday it would introduce a new satellite-guided navigation system for flights to Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral by June 2026, aiming to curb chronic weather-related delays and cancelations at the three remote northern airports.
The destinations are among Pakistan’s most visited tourist sites and serve as gateways to the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders China, also holds strategic significance as part of the northern corridor linking the two neighbors.
Marking International Civil Aviation Day, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said it was accelerating aviation-sector upgrades, including the rollout of Required Navigation Performance – Authorization Required (RNP-AR) procedures.
RNP-AR is a high-precision, satellite-based approach system that enables aircraft to fly accurate, terrain-avoiding paths in low visibility, reducing weather-related disruptions at mountain airports.
“Pakistan Airports Authority is rapidly working on major projects for safe, efficient and modern aviation in the country,” the PAA said.
It added that RNP-AR flight procedures for Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral “will be implemented by June 2026,” subject to the findings of a consultant’s feasibility study.
The authority said the system would “significantly reduce weather-related flight delays and cancelations.”
The PAA also announced timelines for several other major upgrades, including terminal expansion at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport by September 2026 and runway modernization at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport by January 2026.
Further works include the next upgrade phase at Skardu Airport and phase two of Muridke General Aviation Aerodrome, both due to begin next year.
New greenfield airports in Dera Ismail Khan, Sukkur and Faisalabad have also entered planning stages, the statement said.
Final sites have been approved for a new air-traffic control tower and rescue fire station at Karachi Airport, infrastructure the PAA said would strengthen air-traffic management and safety.
“Pakistan Airports Authority is leading the aviation sector toward a safer and more accessible future,” it said.
