Daily Times

An accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday extended the physical remand of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi by a fortnight in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) case. The accountability watchdog presented the senior PML-N leader before accountability court Judge Shahrukh Arjamand seeking permission to extend his physical remand. The NAB prosecutor argued that further inquiry into the LNG case was necessary. The court approved NAB’s plea and extended Abbasi’s physical remand. NAB arrested Abbasi on July 18 in an alleged corruption case pertaining to the award of the LNG import contract when he was on his way to attend a news conference and was accompanied by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal and spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb. As per the arrest warrant, Abbasi was “accused of commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 9(a) of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999.”