اردو
  • Ishaq Dar indicted in assets reference case

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar File photo Finance Minister Ishaq Dar

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reached Accountability Court-I which is hearing the Supreme Court-directed corruption reference against him.

    Dar reached the court a little before 9am amid tight security arrangements and faced trouble getting into the court complex owing to the huge crowd.

    Dar then got back into his vehicle as the gates of the complex are still shut. Police sources said if they open the gates they fear the crowd will get into the complex.

    Later, security officials escorted Dar to the court complex from its rear gate. The media has been disallowed from entering the premises. However, a number of lawyers were seen climbing over the gate to enter the complex.

    The hearing against Dar is under way, however, what transpires inside will be made public once the proceedings have finished.

    Once the charges against Dar were read out, he refused to accept the indictment and will now contest the case per procedure.

    The corruption reference, pertaining to Dar's owning assets that are disproportionate to his known sources of income, was filed by the National Accountability Bureau in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

    Read more: NAB references: Nawaz Sharif to be indicted on Oct 2, arrest warrants issued for children

    After skipping his first hearing, for which a summons had been issued, Dar appeared in court on Monday after bailable warrants for his arrest had been issued to ensure his presence.

    During Monday's hearing, Judge Mohammad Bashir observed that the finance minister would be indicted on the next hearing (today and also directed NAB to provide Dar with a copy of the NAB reference — spread over 23 volumes.

    Dar's counsel asked the court to be granted seven days for perusing the reference against his client but the judge denied the request, observing that the court has to complete the trial in six months as per the apex court's directions.

    "If you take a month to read the reference how will we wrap up proceedings in the given time," the judge asked, observing further that two days are enough to go over the reference.

    The judge observed that they will conduct daily hearings in the case and also directed Dar to deposit a Rs5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the hearings.

    Dar's counsel, Amjad Pervez, said they expect the courts to dispense justice. "No one will object to daily proceedings if all tenets of justice are adhered to," he said while answering a question.