Tag: NAB

  • NAB arrests ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    NAB arrests ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    The National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) has arrested former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scandal case.

    Abbasi is facing accusations of handing over a tender worth Rs220 billion to a company in which he himself was a shareholder. His name is also on the Exit Control List (ECL) so as to stop him from leaving the country.

    The arrest comes after the former premier skipped a NAB hearing pertaining to the case at the bureau’s Rawalpindi office.

    According to reports, Abbasi was due in Lahore for a press conference to be addressed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif at 4 pm. He, however, was intercepted on his way and taken into custody.

    “I received the NAB notice yesterday and it was not possible for me to appear before the bureau on such short notice,” he had stated in a letter to NAB earlier in the day. He had also reportedly sought three days from the anti-graft watchdog for appearance.

    The PML-N is yet to react to the arrest.

  • Asif Ali Zardari to be arrested today: sources

    Asif Ali Zardari to be arrested today: sources

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari will be arrested by the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) in the fake bank accounts case today, The Current has learnt.

    As per the details, Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur will be taken into custody after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas earlier in the day.

    Issuing its orders, the bench also permitted NAB authorities to carry out the arrests.

    “A team of NAB officials has already informed National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser in this regard,” sources said, adding that an elected representative cannot be detained unless the speaker of the respective house has been informed.

    NAB’s letter to NA Speaker Asad Qaiser

    “Another NAB team has reached Zardari’s residence, however, PPP leaders are seeking a certified copy of the judgment ahead of the arrest,” they said further.

    The judgement is being sought so that the Supreme Court (SC) can be petitioned against the high court’s order. “That is the only option left for the two PPP leaders.”

    Meanwhile, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s spokesperson Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has requested party workers to stay calm and not resort to violence.

    The fake accounts case relates to transactions of hundreds of millions of rupees to Zardari and Talpur’s private companies allegedly through fake bank accounts.