Court rejects ex-PM Abbasi’s plea for live telecast of LNG case hearing

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad rejected on Thursday a plea of former prime minister Shahid Khan Abbasi seeking a live telecast of trial proceedings of the LNG terminal case.

Judge Azam Khan heard the case. The PML-N leader moved the plea requesting the court to allow the trial in the LNG reference filed against him and others by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to be aired live.

Ex-PM Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, former managing director of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imranul Haq, ex-chairperson of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Uzma Adil and others are named in the reference.

On November 16, the court had indicted all the accused. They pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges. Subsequently, the court directed the NAB prosecution to furnish evidence to back up the allegations against them.

Abbasi is accused of awarding LNG Terminal-I contract to a firm at Port Qasim Karachi, at exorbitant rates.