NAB to file supplementary graft reference against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor on Wednesday informed the accountability court that the graft body intends to file a supplementary reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir resumed hearing of the graft reference filed in compliance with the Supreme Court’s landmark July 28 verdict.

At the outset of court proceedings, NAB prosecutor pleaded with the judge to grant the prosecution some time as the investigation officer was on his way to the court.

The court adjourned the hearing till 11:30pm.

Following a recess, the anti-graft body prosecutor apprised the judge that all witnesses have testified against the accused other than the last prosecution witness, Inamul Haq.

“The prosecution plans to file a supplementary reference against the accused in the court after the testimony of last witness Inamul Haq,” he said.

On the occasion, he informed the judge that Haq was unwell and didn’t turn up at court in the last hearing, while urging the judge to issue arrest warrant for the witness as he has recovered and deliberately skipping the hearings.

The judge then declined the request to issue the warrants and warned the witness to ensure his presence in the next hearing.

The court then adjourned the hearing till February 23.

According to the NAB reference, Dar had acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his name or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million as per the investigation conducted so far.

Last hearing

In the previous hearing on Monday, Wajid Zia, head of the Supreme Court-appointed JIT to probe the Sharif family’s wealth, appeared before the accountability court to record his statement in the assets reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The court recorded the statement of the JIT head, who has been named as a witness in the case.

Wajid Zia submitted the Volume I and IX of the JIT report to the judge.

He informed the court that the former finance minister’s assets were around Rs 9.1 million in 1999 as per his wealth statement, which increased to Rs831.6 million in 2008-09.

He stated that Dar failed to provide any proof to the JIT to justify how his assets multiplied by leaps and bounds in a decade.

The former finance minister had been declared a proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the trial proceedings.

Earlier, the IHC had permitted the accountability court to resume ex parte proceedings against Ishaq Dar after discarding his plea to suspend his declaration as proclaimed offender by the accountability court in the graft reference.