An accountability court in Islamabad has cancelled the non-bailable warrants for PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbani hours after issuing them, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

AC Judge Nasir Javed Rana, who has been hearing the LNG reference, cancelled the warrants on Tuesday afternoon after Khaqan Abbasi’s lawyer filed an application for withdrawing the arrest warrants.

The court also cancelled the non-bailable arrest warrants for co-accused Uzma Adil Khan.

Earlier in the day, the accountability court in Islamabad has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others. Judge Nasir Javed Rana issued the warrants after no-show by the former prime minister during hearing of the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) reference. Khaqan Abbasi neither appeared in the court nor filed a plea seeking exemption from appearance.

The court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for co-accused Uzma Adil Khan, who is the ex-chairperson of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

It also directed the counsels for the accused to present their arguments at the next proceedings and adjourned the hearing till March 14.

In the previous hearing, Judge Javed Rana reserved verdict on the acquittal petitions filed by Abbasi and others on the grounds that since the NAB holds no jurisdiction to hear this case after the amendment to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), the court could issue an appropriate order.

However, the NAB prosecutor opposed these petitions.  

Abbasi, ex-finance minister Miftah Ismail, former managing director Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imranul Haq, ex-Ogra chairpersons Saeed Ahmed Khan and Uzma Adil Khan, Engro Group chairman Hussain Dawood, former chairman PQA Agha Jan Akhtar, ex-member Ogra Aamir Naseem, former managing director PSO Shahid M Islam and PSO official Abdul Sammad have been nominated in the reference.

According to the reference filed by the NAB, a certain LNG company had received monetary benefits to the tune of over Rs21 billion because of the contract. The reference said the national exchequer would suffer Rs47bn loss by 2029 if the contract in question continued. 

Abbasi is accused of awarding the 15-year contract in 2013 against the rules when he was the petroleum minister in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet. But Abbasi denied these charges. The case was closed by NAB in 2016 but then reopened in 2018.

Abbasi was also arrested in connection with the case in July 2019. 

In 2021, he had been granted bail by an accountability court that ruled there was never any conflict over non-transparency in the LNG terminal case.

Reporter Ehtisham Kiyani