July 18th 2019: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leader was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday.
The NAB apprehended Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from Lahore Toll Plaza in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) case. He was on his way to attend a press conference when he was arrested. As per the arrest warrant, NAB has accused Abbasi of ‘commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 9(a) of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999.’
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the latest high-profile member of the opposition PML-N party to be arrested in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “accountability” drive.
In June, the former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari was arrested by NAB, he is the chief of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The charges on which he was arrested are of taking bribes through a network of fake bank accounts.
Last week, Imran Khan’s cabinet directed the country’s media regulator to ban coverage of opposition politicians accused of corruption, after an explosive press conference by Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz.
Maryam Nawaz shared a video that she claimed showed the anti-corruption judge who convicted her father, confessing to being “blackmailed” into the verdict. The judge has denied the authenticity of the video and was suspended from his post shortly after.
