NAB court rejects Dar's exemption plea, adjourns hearing until 18th

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad resumed hearing a NAB corruption reference against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday.

The court, during the hearing, rejected Dar's plea seeking exemption from appearance, observing that the accused needs to be present when the witnesses record their statements and are cross-examined.  

Dar's counsel Khawaja Haris completed the cross-examination of the prosecution's witness Tariq Javed of Al Baraka Bank.  

Tariq Javed had recorded his statement and presented bank records at the last hearing

Haris accused the witness of lying in court after the witness said he has not read the documents submitted in detail.

Later, the hearing was adjourned until Oct 18.

The court has summoned Masood Ghani of Habib Bank and Abdul Rahman Gondal of Allied Bank to record their statements and then be cross-examined by Dar's counsel in the next hearing. 

Strict security measures were taken for the appearance of the finance minister before the court, which held the fifth hearing.

Earlier in the day, the accountability court adjourned the hearing until twelve o'clock noon due to the absence of Khawaja Haris, the counsel for Dar.  

The NAB had filed the reference against Dar for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income.

On Oct 2, during the last hearing, two prosecution witnesses recorded their statements and submitted details of bank accounts linked to Dar. 

Khawaja Harris, Dar's counsel, objected to the veracity of the documents submitted by Tariq Javed of Al Baraka Bank — one of the witnesses — saying if the court desires continuing proceedings in such a manner, then the case will be wrapped up in a few days.

"Electronic statements cannot be taken as primary evidence," Harris argued, requesting the court to make his objection part of its record.

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