Court approves NAB plea to produce witnesses in ‘assets beyond income case’ against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Wednesday approved the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s request to produce two witnesses in the reference of assets beyond income against former finance minister Ishaq Dar on February 20, ARY News reported.

During the hearing, the NAB had requested to present two witnesses, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) official Sidra Mansur and Salman Saeed, before summoning the head of the joint investigation team in Panama Leaks case Wajid Zia and the investigation officer.

The court has adjourned hearing of the case till February 20. It said Wajid Zia and the IO would be summoned after the two witnesses.

Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir was hearing the case.

Three co-accused Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi were present in the court hearing.

The court was hearing the arguments of Advocate Hashmat Habib, the counsel of co-accused Saeed Ahmed, over the acquittal plea of his client.

The counsel denied the argument that his client was appointed President of National Bank due to favoritism.

He said, Saeed was made the bank’s president following due procedure and the rules and regulations.

He was removed due to the reference against him. He called the way his client was removed from the bank’s top post as degrading.

In a hearing of the case on January 16, the accountability court recorded statements of three witnesses, including a forensic expert who was presented as a witness by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In his statement, the witness, Muhammad Naseem, said that co-accused Saeed Ahmed’s signatures were found to be fake in seven bank accounts. He said the signatures on the bank accounts do not bear any similarity to his signature.