Islamabad (Web Desk): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted bails to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Ahsan Iqbal in the corruption cases against them.
A two-member bench of the IHC headed by Chief Justice Athar Minullah, heard the cases.
The bails to the PML-N leaders were granted against bonds worth Rs10 million each in the cases against the two.
Former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested by the accountability watchdog for allegedly violating rules and causing a loss to the national exchequer in the LNG case.
In today’s hearing, National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Additional Prosecutor General (APG) opposed Ahsan Iqbal’s bail, saying that it can disrupt the record of the case.
During the arguments in a case regarding Narowal Sports City Complex (NSCC), Justice Minallah remarked that arresting a suspect to interrogate him shows incompetence on the part of the investigation officer and a suspect is innocent until the crime is proven against him.
The NAB's APG then said that he will not object if Ahsan Iqbal submits his passport and appears when summoned by the court.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was arrested in December 2019 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as he appeared before it in relation to the corruption case.
NAB had begun investigating the complex in July 2018. It was built at the staggering cost of over Rs3,000 million.
The anti-graft body’s investigation team also visited the Narowal Sports City project in November to secure records.
The mega venture was one of the primary projects developed under former minister for planning Ahsan Iqbal during the PML-N's tenure.
