ISLAMABAD: The defence counsel on Wednesday started presenting arguments for the acquittal of the co-accused in an illegal assets reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Dar for holding assets beyond his means.
Dar, who is also a close aide and relative of convicted ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was named in the interim reference in September 2017 in light of Supreme Court’s verdict in Panama Papers case.
As the hearing resumed earlier in the day, co-accused National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi appeared before Judge Muhammad Bashir in the Accountability Court-I.
The defence lawyer Qazi Misbah presented the arguments for the acquittal petition of co-accused Rizvi and Mehmood. Ahmed had earlier filed an acquittal petition.
The counsel argued that the co-accused were charged for abetting Dar, however, none of 10 witnesses of prosecution had yet said that co-accused were involved in the crime.
“The role of co-accused is not proven from the statements of prosecution witnesses,” Qazi remarked.