NAB court hears assets beyond income reference against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad has heard the assets beyond income reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

During the hearing, Qazi Misbahul Hassan appeared before the court to represent Ishaq Dar, whereas, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was represented by its prosecutor Afzal Qureshi.

Dar’s lawyer told the court that the reference was not filed in accordance with the law. To this, the NAB prosecutor argued that Dar’s lawyer was deliberately holding a debate.

Hassan argued that it was mentioned in the NAB prosecutor’s report that Dar had not appeared before the investigation despite being summoned. He added that the report was based on assumptions if an accused did not appear before the investigators to clarify his position.

READ: COURT SEEKS MORE ARGUMENTS IN ISHAQ DAR ASSETS REFERENCE

The NAB prosecutor replied that Dar should tell the court by himself.

Misbahul Hassan further argued that the reference was non-maintainable after the NAB amendment ordinance. The lawyer of the co-accused said that they had filed a petition after the completion of trial by the prosecution. The counsel added that the prosecution had found no evidence against them.

Dar’s lawyer pleaded with the NAB court to put the case on hold.

The court adjourned the hearing till December 1. In the next hearing, the lawyers from both sides will continue their arguments in the case.

It may be mentioned here that the court has declared Ishaq Dar as a proclaimed offender due to his continuous absence from hearing of the case.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between British and Pakistan authorities over Ishaq Dar’s extradition to Pakistan. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.

The document was signed after Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar held talks with British Home Secretary Sajid Javid.