Pakistan arrests ex-PM on Qatar natural gas corruption allegations
Authorities in Pakistan have arrested a former prime
minister over alleged irregularities related to the import of natural gas from
Qatar.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi served as prime minister for nearly a
year after Nawaz Sharif was removed from office in July 2017 for failing to
disclose foreign assets.
Sharif is currently serving a seven-year jail term for
corruption, and authorities have pursued a number of his allies on corruption
allegations.
Lawmaker Ahsan Iqbal says officials from the National
Accountability Bureau stopped their vehicle as they were entering Lahore on
Thursday and arrested Abbasi.
Authorities are investigating Abbasi’s role in awarding a
contract to a liquefied natural gas company in which the former prime minister
was a shareholder. He has denied any wrongdoing.
