ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday issued notice to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on a petition filed by federal Minister Ishaq Dar seeking cancellation of his warrants in the assets beyond means case.
On September 23, the accountability suspended the arrest warrants of Dar, who is replacing outgoing finance minister Miftah Ismail, till October 7, paving the way for him to return from London and surrender before the court.
On Monday, Dar accompanied by the prime minister landed in Pakistan after a five-year of self-imposed exile to assume the office of the federal finance minister.
On December 11, 2017, the accountability had declared Ishaq Dar a proclaimed offender in a NAB reference due to his continued absence from the proceedings. The NAB accused Dar of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The case was filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.
During the course of proceedings, Senator Ishaq Dar surrendered himself before the accountability court and pleaded to cancel his arrested warrants.
Meanwhile, the accountability court issued notice to the NAB on his plea and ordered Dar to appear before the court on October 7.
“We will hear the application for cancellation of warrants along with assets’ reference,” the judge remarked and adjourned the hearing till October 7 (Friday).
Talking to journalists after appearing in the accountability court, Ishaq Dar said that a fake case was lodged against him.
Lashing out at the PTI’s government, the PML-N leader said, “Imran Khan got cancelled my passport”. He maintained that he did not have a Pakistani passport for the past four years.
“After cancelling my passport, they were asking me to return homeland,” said Dar.
The PTI-led government ruined the country’s economy during the past four years, he said, adding that they deviated from international agreements for political gains.
“PTI laid landmines for next government,” he added.
Responding to a question, Dar said that Miftah Ismail’s efforts saved Pakistan from default.
“Miftah Ismail was, is and will be the part of our team,” the federal minister added.