ISLAMABAD: The accountability court (AC), hearing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference regarding assets beyond known sources of income against Senator Ishaq Dar, is yet to indict the co-accused.
AC judge Muhammad Bashir took the supplementary reference for hearing on Monday. During the hearing, three co-accused including National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) president Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Raza appeared before the court.
The court initially dismissed the plea of the co-accused to delay indictment until Tuesday.
The counsel for the accused, Advocate Hashmat Habib informed the court that they had not yet received the copy of Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict on the plea of the co-accused challenging the accountability court’s dismissal of their acquittal request.
The judge remarked that let the charges be framed against accused as the case was required to be concluded within three months. The defence counsel argued that the court could indict the accused only after receiving the IHC orders.
However, NAB prosecutor Imran Shafi opposed the stance and argued that it was a seventh date the case could not proceed further. Habib interfered that NAB was not authorised to tell the court to frame charges against the accused.
The judge ordered the NAB prosecutor to submit the copy of the IHC judgment by 1:30 pm.
The hearing was then adjourned until 1:30 pm. Later on, all three co-accused were present in the court, however, their lawyer remained absent from the proceeding. The assistant lawyer requested the court to adjourn the hearing for a day.
The court then adjourned the hearing of the case till Tuesday.
On February 26, the anti-graft watchdog filed a supplementary reference against Ishaq Dar in the assets case with regard to alleged accumulation of assets beyond his known sources of income.
Three suspects, including NBP President Saeed Ahmed, Mansoor Raza and Naeem Mehmood, were nominated in the reference. All three are accused of aiding Dar in opening fictitious bank accounts and transferring money abroad.
The former finance minister, who has been absconding in the case since October last year, has already been indicted in the case.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Dar is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income. A reference against him was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.
In its reference against the former finance minister, NAB alleged that “the accused has acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx)”.
The reference alleged that the assets were “disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for”.
The court has declared him a proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the trial proceedings and attached his movable and immovable properties.
In November 2017, the government withdrew the portfolio of finance minister of Dar.
