NAB arrests ex-Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Lahore, July 18 (IANS) Pakistan's former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested by the country's anti-corruption watchdog on Thursday from the outskirts of Lahore.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader was reportedly arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his involvement in the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) corruption scandal, the Express News reported. 

Abbasi was on his way to attend a press conference, accompanied by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, when he was arrested from the Lahore Toll Plaza. 

Abbasi's arrest was confirmed by the party. The NAB had summoned the former Premier in the LNG case on Thursday, but he did not appear before the bureau.

He is facing the accusation of handing over a tender worth Rs 220 billion to a company in which he was a shareholder himself. He is also named in the Exit Control List (ECL).

Abbasi initially resisted the arrest, but eventually conceded, Dawn News reported.