ISLAMABAD: A prosecution witness produced in court cheques presented by Ishaq Dar to Hajvery Foundation, as an accountability court resumed the hearing of the illegal assets reference case against the former finance minister on Wednesday.
In a supplementary reference filed earlier this year, NAB named National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi as co-accused. The latter two have been identified as directors of one of Dar’s companies. All three are accused of aiding Dar in opening fictitious bank accounts and transferring money abroad.
As Wednesday’s hearing went underway, the witness, Mohammad Azeem, who is an official at a private bank, produced in court the cheques presented by Dar to Hajvery Foundation. From the evidence presented in the court, it was found that on January 22, 2010, Dar issued a cheque of Rs0.4 million, while on March 1, 2010, he issued a cheque of Rs0.7 million.
The court was also informed that Dar issued cheques worth a total of Rs65.3 million to Hajvery Foundation, Azeem informed the court.
At the last hearing on May 9, defence counsel Qazi Misbah began Azeem’s cross-examination.
Azeem said he presented Dar’s bank transactions first to NAB and then to the court. The witness also detailed the transaction history of the former minister.
Dar, a close aide of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif, is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued the written verdict in a petition against Ishaq Dar’s Senate membership.
Earlier, the court had suspended Dar’s membership till his appearance in the court.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Nawazish Ali Pirzada had filed a petition against the acceptance of nomination papers of Dar for the Senate elections. The petitioner took a stance that the court had declared the former finance minister as court absconder, declaring his membership illegal as he was not illegible for the Senate elections.
He appealed the court to null and void the LHC decision and suspend Dar’s membership from the Senate.
Following the petition, the court had sought a reply from Ishaq Dar and directed him to appear in the court on May 8, but the former finance minister did not appear in the court. After his failure to appear, the court had suspended his Senate membership.
On Wednesday, the court issued written verdict of the Ishaq Dar’s membership suspension case. Dar’s petitioner informed the court that his client could not appear in the court due to health problems and requested the court to adjourn the hearing till Eid.
However, the former finance minister’s membership will remain suspended till his appearance in the court.