Dar appears before accountability court

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar appeared before an accountability court in a reference for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income here on Thursday.

In the last hearing held on Oct 4, the NAB had summoned a senior official of the National Investment Trust, Shahid Aziz, and a banker, Tariq Javed, to record their statements as witness in the next hearing fixed for Oct 12.

Accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir hearing the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) graft case against the finance minister, remarked that the anonymous account holder should be served a notice to bring into his knowledge that his property is under debate.

Tariq Javed while recording his statement said that he received a NAB letter at his bank address. I was asked to provide verified bank details of Ishaq Dar to NAB.

Javed added he visited the NAB, Lahore and provided a copy of the account opening form of Tabassum Ishaq Dar.

The banker presented details of bank accounts of Dar's wife to the accountability court.

At this, Dar's counsel Khawaja Harris objected to the veracity of the documents, saying if the court wants to continue proceedings like this then the case will be wrapped up in a few days.

He argued that the electronic statements could not be taken as primary evidence. He prayed the court to make his objection part of the court record.

However, NAB Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq argued that it is the court’s job to decide what is primary evidence, and that any missing or unverified documents can be added and corrected later.

FC and 200 policemen have been deployed at and around the Judicial Complex for the hearing.

Federal Minister Daniyal Aziz and State Minister Anusha Rehman also arrived at the NAB court while PML-N workers are not allowed to enter the court premises.

Last month, an accountability court in Islamabad had indicted Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a corruption reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).