Islamabad (November 08, 2017): The accountability court hearing corruption case against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected his plea for exemption from appearance and trying him through his representatives in the case.
The court while rejecting his plea for exemption from personal appearance maintained the bailable arrest warrant issued for the minister earlier for his failure to appear before the court.
Dar’s secondary counsel Ayesha Hamid requested the court to grant her client exemption from appearance on medical grounds and continue with the case by approving the appointment of a legal representative.
The NAB prosecutor opposed the request and sought issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants for the minister due to his third absence today from the proceedings.
Judge Mohammad Bashir dismissed Dar’s exemption plea as well as NAB’s request for non-bailable warrants, and ordered for the continuation of the bailable warrants that was issued on October 30, when Dar first skipped the proceedings.
The judge further ordered Dar’s bail guarantor to ensure the minister’s presence at the next hearing, warning that the surety bond of Rs5 million would be confiscated in case of a no-show.
The court also did not rule on the appointment of a legal representative.
The hearing was then adjourned until November 14.
At the outset of the hearing, Dar counsel Khawaja Harris submitted medical reports of Dar in the court, stating the minister was undergoing treatment in London.
He also filed an application in the court seeking his client’s trial though pleader and exempting him from personal appearance. The counsel told the court that Dar had appointed Zafir Khan as his pleader and submitted the power in the court.
The reference against the minister has been filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income in light of the SC directives in Panama case.
Dar also did not appear before the accountability court in the last hearing of the case on November 2, upon which the court maintained his bailable arrest warrant issued earlier for his failure to appear before the court.
In the last hearing of the case, the accountability court approved the request by the NAB to freeze the assets of Dar. A request by Dar to spend Rs0.6 million monthly from the accounts for personal expenses was also rejected by the court.
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