Accountability court likely to declare Ishaq Dar proclaimed offender today

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Monday resumed the hearing into a reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income.

As Judge Muhammad Bashir resumed the hearing, Dar’s lawyer submitted his client’s medical report, which the court rejected and directed him to submit a verified report.

The court is to decide today whether or not to confiscate Dar’s surety bonds worth Rs5 million as the final deadline for him to appear before it expires today.

It is likely to declare the former finance minister a proclaimed offender today as ten-day period given to him to surrender after the issuance of proclamation notices has also ended.

At the last hearing, the judge warned guarantor Ahmed Ali Quddusi to present Dar in the court until December 4, or else his surety bonds worth Rs five million will be confiscated.

Quddusi told the judge that the former finance minister had lately undergone angiography and the report is awaited. It may take him three to four more weeks to return to Pakistan, he added.

Dar has been accused of accumulating wealth beyond his known sources of income in the reference filed against him in compliance with the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

The court had already declared the former finance minister an absconder and issued a show cause notice to his guarantor to explain as why his surety bonds worth Rs five million should not be confiscated for failing to ensure presence of the accused in the court.

Dar, who is currently in London, has repeatedly skipped the court hearings despite issuance of non-bailable warrants for his arrest.