Islamabad (October 16, 2017): The Accountability Court adjourned the hearing of the corruption case against federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar till October 18.
Throughout the hearing of the case today Dar sat praying on the bead.
Today Dar’s counsel completed his cross examining prosecution witness Tariq Javed. During the hearing heated words were also exchanged between Dar’s counsel and Nab prosecutor.
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Earlier in the morning, the court adjourned the hearing till 12:oo due to no-show by Dar’s counsel Khawaja Haris.
Ishaq Dar appeared before the court for the fifth time today in the case pertaining to the reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
In the absence of Dar’s council Khuwaja Haris, his junior pleaded the court for granting his superior one-day exemption for today, however court rejected the plea.
The NAB team of prosecutors was present in the court to pursue its case.
After Dar’s counsel Khawaja Haris’ no-show the court adjourned the hearing till noon. When the resumed hearing after a break. As the hearing resumed around noon, lead counsel Khawaja Harris appeared in court and argued for his client’s exemption. However, the NAB prosecutor argued that the minister should relieve himself of his ‘duties’ and be present in court. The judge then ruled what he had observed earlier — that the accused has to be present in court when the witnesses record their statements and are cross-examined.
Dar’s counsel Khawaja Harris cross-examined the NAB witnesses.
Ishaq Dar appeared before the court for the fifth time today in the case pertaining to the reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
In the absence of Dar’s council Khuwaja Haris, his junior pleaded the court for granting his superior one-day exemption for today, however court reject the plea.
The NAB team of prosecutors was present in the court to pursue its case.
The court is recording statements of NAB witnesses and the defense counsel subsequently conducted cross-examination of the witnesses.
It may also be mentioned here that after skipping his first hearing- for which a summons had been issued- Dar had appeared in court later after bailable warrants for his arrest were been issued to ensure his presence.
The judge then directed Dar to deposit a Rs. 5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the hearings.
During the last hearing on October 12 two prosecution witnesses recorded their statements and submitted details of bank accounts linked to Dar.
Dar’s counsel Khawaja Harris had raised objections to the veracity of the documents submitted by one of the witnesses Tariq Javed of Al Baraka Bank arguing that 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,” he had argued.
NAB Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq rebutting Harris’ arguments had said 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.
Later, Shahid Aziz of the National Investment Trust (NIT) had deposed his testimony.
It may be mentioned here that NAB has submitted a list of 28 witnesses with the accountability court, which is hearing the Supreme Court-directed case against Dar and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.
Dar, who was indicted on September 27 for owning assets beyond his known sources of income, has denied all charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court.
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