An Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench on Tuesday granted protective bail to former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a case related to alleged illegal appointments of the managing director and deputy managing director of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO). The bench also approved protective bail of former petroleum secretary Arshad Mirza in the same case. Headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, the two-judge bench heard their bail applications. They have been granted the bail for three weeks. The ex-premier’s lawyer stated before the bench 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, therefore, requested the bench to grant him protective bail so that he can travel to Karachi to attend the trial court’s hearing. It merits mentioning that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested in connection with the case in July last year. He is accused of awarding a 15-year contract for an LNG terminal allegedly when he was petroleum minister in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted bail to Abbasi in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) reference on February 25.