Web Desk (September 27, 2017): Opposition parties demanded on Wednesday that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should resign in the wake of his indictment by an accountability court earlier in the day.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters that the finance minister should tender his resignation immediately for the sake of the country’s economy.
He added that Dar’s focus would now be diverted towards the case, not allowing him to serve as a finance minister properly.
On the other hands, AML chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed commented that some people loved wealth more than honor and dignity.He added that the rulers had not only wrecked havoc on the country but also on democracy too.
Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid went a step further by saying that it was a matter of great embarrassment for Pakistan that its finance minister was involved in money laundering.
He added that the court verdict in the Rs1.2 billion Hudabiya Paper Mills scam would be announced in a week and Dar would face the brunt of its consequences.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders on Wednesday also demanded that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar resign from his office after an accountability court indicted him in an assets reference case.
Addressing a press conference in the capital, PPP leader Saleem Mandiwalla said that the country is being embarrassed among the comity of nations for having a a finance minister who was indicted.
The party had made a recommendation in a Senate committee that Dar should resign but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) did not agree, he lamented.
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Senator Sherry Rehman once again dismissed claims of the party going out of its way to support former premier Nawaz Sharif, saying the party made it clear it won’t support Nawaz once he was disqualified.
“Nawaz is saving himself, not democracy,” she said.
She also lashed out at the ruling party for priortising their leader Nawaz over the country, saying the economic situation of the country has become dismal.
Rehman criticised PML-N representatives for disrespecting judiciary, asking “why would a common man respect court verdicts if the rulers aren’t”.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was indicted on Wednesday by the accountability court hearing the Supreme Court-directed corruption reference against him.
Dar denied all charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court.
The corruption reference, pertaining to Dar’s owning assets that are disproportionate to his known sources of income, was filed by the National Accountability Bureau in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
After skipping his first hearing, for which a summons had been issued, Dar appeared in court on Monday after bailable warrants for his arrest had been issued to ensure his presence.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) also formally demanded the resignation of finance minister Ishaq Dar in a PTI’s consultative meeting held in Bani Gala and presided over by the party chairman Imran Khan.
The meeting expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s fragile interior and foreign policies. It also expressed concerns over the mountainous price hike in the country.
Talking to media after the meeting, party spokesperson Fawad Chaudhary told the media that PTI is specially discussed the dar issue in the meeting and asked him resign immediately.
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Earlier, the accountability court has issued written orders of the indictment of finance minister Ishaq Dar in the National Accountability Bureau’s reference filed against him for allegedly possessing assets beyond known sources of income.
Judge Accountability Court Mohammad Bashir indicted Dar in the reference filed on the instructions of Supreme Court in Panamagate verdict.
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The minister pleaded not guilty to all charges read out by Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir, terming them baseless. Following the indictment, NAB presented before the court a list of witnesses against the accused.
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Dar’s counsel, Amjad Pervez, pleaded that his client did not receive the notice the court usually issues seven days prior to the indictment, but the judge told him that since his client had not appeared in the first hearing on Sept 19, this could be taken to mean that he was allowed the seven-day notice period.
The court asked NAB prosecution to present at least two witnesses who would testify against Dar.
Meanwhile, the court rejected an application filed by Dar requesting exemption from personal attendance in court hearings and said the case would be heard on a day-to-day basis after Muharram holidays.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned till October 4.
On September 8, NAB had filed a reference against Dar, and three separate references against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children.
In the reference against Dar, the NAB alleged that “the accused has acquired assets and pecuniary interests / resources in his own name and / or in the name of his dependants of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx).” The reference alleged that the assets were “disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for.”
On Sept 18, the Lahore NAB wrote to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to remind them that since a reference was pending against him, “the bank accounts of Mr Dar may be cautioned”.
Dar appeared before the Accountability Court-I amid strict security arrangements. As Dar reached Federal Judicial Complex, which also houses the accountability court, media was not allowed to entered the complex.
The main gate of the complex was closed and even Dar was taken to the court from the rear gate of the building. Strict security arrangements have been made at the complex.
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