Ishaq Dar vows to come back after health recovery

LONDON: Former finance minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said he would return to Pakistan after recovering from his illness and with permission of the doctors.

He expressed these sentiments in an informal conversation with press in London after paying a visit to former premier Nawaz Sharif’s ailing wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.

Pakistan is my country and I will return to it soon after my treatment, said Dar.

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

The former finance minister has been accused of amassing 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.

According to the National Accountability Bureau (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.

On Friday, the anti-graft body informed the accountability court that the graft body intends to file a supplementary reference against him.

At the outset of court proceedings, NAB prosecutor presented his arguments and said that the prosecution would file a supplementary reference against the accused on Monday (February 26).

Moreover, he pleaded with the judge to grant the prosecution additional time to record the statement of the investigation officer.

On the occasion, last prosecution witness Inamul Haq documented his statement before the court and provided the property details of Dar’s wife and son.

Haq told informed the court that the accused purchased three plots of two kanals during 2004 to 2009.

The court is to resume hearing of the reference tomorrow (Monday).