Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s admission before the Supreme Court that his family had very close business relations with Qatar’s ruling family has now jeopardised the multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) import agreement with Qatar, a senior legal expert told Daily Times. The revelation was made during the Panamagate case hearing.

Legal expert Akram Chaudhry said that Nawaz-led federal government’s agreement with Qatar should have been adjudicated under the legal provisions of conflict of interests, which now amounts to puting the whole agreement into perils.

According to law, the premier is not entitled to sign any agreement worth billions of dollars with his business partners, including persons or companies, because such agreements fall in the ambit of conflict of interests and were not practicable anywhere in the world.

During the course of Panamagate case hearing in the SC, the Sharif family admitted that it has had business relations with Qatari rulers for the past 50 years.

Nawaz Sharif, soon after coming into power, started making efforts to import LNG from Qatar throughout the next 15 years. As a result of those efforts, a $20 billion agreement was reached between Pakistan and Qatar last year.

According to the agreement, Qatar would export LNG to Pakistan for a period of 15 years and Pakistan would pay more than $20 billion to Qatar. An LNG terminal has also been constructed at Port Qasim, Karachi.

The premier had not leaked these secrets – that his family was having business relations with Qatari rulers – until the signing of the agreement.

Now, a central leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has expressed the resolve to challenge the LNG agreement with Qatar in court because it is based on personal interests of Nawaz Sharif.

When contact Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for his comment, his only reply was “Masha’Allah” (praise to Allah). Petroleum Secretary Arshad Mirza was also contacted for his comment, but he could not respond to the queries and kept mum over the issue, which now might put the government in another crisis.

Senior PTI member Niazullah Khan Niazi said that his party was seriously considering moving the court concerned against the LNG agreement by invoking the conflict of interest provisions of the law.

It may be mentioned here that the federal government has not completely revealed the LNG agreement signed with Qatar, while the opposition in parliament had also protested against the government for concealing from parliament the contents of the agreement.

The government has implied that the import of LNG would play a vital role in producing cheap electricity in the country, and this form of energy would overcome the power crisis.

Pakistan has been facing shortage of energy for the past many years. Nawaz Sharif came into power in 2013, pledging that he would overcome the energy crisis.

The Panama leaks case has now sabotaged his whole plan, as it has now exposed the Sharif family.