Accountability court adjourns Dar's assets reference till Oct 23
The statements of two more witnesses will be recorded during the hearing.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The accountability court has on Wednesday adjourned Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s assets beyond means reference, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), till October 23.
Ishaq Dar appeared before the accountability court for the sixth time today. The NAB witnesses Abdul Rehman Gondal and Masood Ul Ghani were also present in the court.
Ishaq Dar’s counsel Khawaja Haris did not come to continue the hearing. Advocate Momina, a junior member of the legal team, informed that he has gone abroad and asked the court to continue the proceedings.
NAB prosecutor commented that Khawaja Haris is not committed with the case. Advocate Momina replied that it is not any game, he had to leave urgently and told that Khawaja Haris will return next Wednesday.
NAB prosecutor asked the court to arrest the accused, and said his counsel will then come back. The judge asked Ishaq Dar about appointment of a new lawyer. The finance minister replied that he trusts Khawaja Haris and will not change him.
On the other hand, the security during the hearings of high-profile cases of Ishaq Dar and Sharif family has become a problem for district administration. The deputy commissioner of the federal capital earlier wrote a letter to judge Muhammad Bashir, who is hearing Dar’s case, to take necessary safety measures.
Muhammad Bashir remarked that the court should be told what kind of security is required during the hearings. He also inquired whether to allow all lawyers to enter the NAB court as per directions of high court or not.
It is worth mentioning here that the NAB Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq and Khawaja Haris exchanged harsh words with each other during the previous hearing.
NAB witness Tariq Javed, a private bank officer, had reappeared before the court along with e-mail record pertaining to the case, and told that NAB letter was not mentioned in it.
The prosecutor said that the letter attached to e-mail cannot be printed, upon which Khawaja Haris remarked not to consider them fools and said it is wrong. Imran Shafiq said Ishaq Dar’s counsel had earlier claimed that the witness will not be able to find the e-mail, but he has submitted the details and the court’s time should not be now wasted.
Khawaja Haris asked the prosecutor to sit down and let him cross-examine the witness. Imran Shafiq replied that it is your wish to send us out of the court, and you tried to evict us in previous hearing as well.
The hearing was then postponed till October 18 (today). The court had also rejected finance minister’s plea for exemption from appearance, and remarked that it wants the accused to be present during the hearing so that he may not raise any objection regarding the proceedings afterwards.
