Dar case: defence seeks acquittal of co-accused

ISLAMABAD: The defence counsel on Wednesday began presenting arguments for the acquittal of the co-accused in an assets reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Dar for owning assets beyond his means. As the hearing went under way in Judge Muhammad Bashir's court on Wednesday, co-accused National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi appeared in the Accountability Court-I.

Defence counsel Advocate Qazi Misbah began presenting arguments for the acquittal petition of co-accused Mehmood and Rizvi. Ahmed had earlier filed an acquittal plea. He apprised the court that the co-accused were charged for abetting Dar, however, none of the prosecution's 10 witnesses had yet said that the co-accused were directly involved in the crime. "The role of the co-accused is not evident from the statements of the prosecution witnesses," Advocate Misbah observed.