Islamabad (July 18, 2018): Accountability Court Islamabad on Wednesday has resumed hearing of NAB reference against former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
As the hearing went underway in Judge Muhammad Bashir’s court today, co-accused National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi appeared in the Accountability Court-I.
The 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’s witnesses,” Advocate Misbah observed.
Earlier on July 11, Accountability Court adjourned the hearing of assets beyond means case against former Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar till July 18(today).
Prosecution witnesses along with three others, accused in NAB’s supplementary reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar for possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income, recorded their statements.
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A supplementary reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the corruption reference against Dar accuses the former finance minister and the three co-accused for corruption amounting to $4.06 million.
Dar, who was declared a proclaimed offender in the corruption case after he left the country in October 2017 on account of his medical treatment, failed to appear before the accountability court.
As the case resumed, the prosecution presented four of its witnesses in Judge Muhammad Bashir’s court. Co-accused in the case, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood, and Mansoor Rizvi, were also present in Accountability Court-I.
The court ordered lawyers of the co-accused to present their arguments. A notice was then issued on the petitions for the acquittal of the three accused in the case, including Dar.
NAB Contacts ECP To Get Complete Record of Dar’s Assets.
Earlier on Tuesday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) approached Election Commission of Pakistan to get a further record of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who was declared absconder in assets beyond income case and his sons’ assets.
According to details, NAB seeking all record of Ishaq Dar assets including secret and disclosed assets to narrow clutches of law around him.
NAB sources told that if more assets of the former finance minister revealed, the supplementary reference will be filed against him.
“NAB is also assessing and collecting the record of the assets of Dar’s sons,” sources said.
The Case
NAB filed an interim reference against Dar — a close aide of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif — in September last year in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28, 2017, verdict in the Panama Papers case.
The supplementary reference is based on seven volumes and includes the account details of the accused persons, with transactions amounting to $4.06 million, according to NAB’s Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq.
On July 10, the Supreme Court ordered a six-week extension for Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir to conclude the corruption references against deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Dar.
In the supplementary reference, NAB named National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi as co-accused. All three are accused of aiding Dar in opening fictitious bank accounts and transferring money abroad.
Dar was re-elected to the Senate of Pakistan but is yet to take oath as he has been in London since October last year on medical grounds.
On May 8, however, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition against the acceptance of Dar’s nomination papers, temporarily suspended Dar’s Senate membership and ordered him to appear in court.
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