NAB gives details of assets held by Ishaq Dar to Punjab govt

Dunya News

The bureau submitted its progress report on the auction of Dar's assets to the accountability court.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday submitted its progress report on the auction of assets held by former finance minister Ishaq Dar to the accountability court.

The progress report, submitted by investigation officer Nadir Abbas, states that the accountability watchdog has given details of Dar’s bank accounts and assets to the Punjab government.

The accountability court last week allowed the bureau to auction properties and other assets held by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar.

While announcing the reserved verdict on NAB’s plea, Justice Mohammad Bashir directed to put the former finance minister’s Lahore properties and his vehicles on auction.

The court said it was the prerogative of the Punjab government to either sell the assets or retain them with itself.

NAB had approached the accountability court for the auction of movable and immovable properties of the ex-minister as he is absconding in assets beyond income reference.

The bureau has also seized all properties of Dar including a house in Lahore, three plots in Al-Falah Housing Society, six acres of land in Islamabad, two-kanal plot in Parliamentarians Enclave, one plot in the Senate Cooperative Housing Society, another plot of two kanals and nine marlas in Islamabad and six vehicles.

On July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench had ordered NAB to file three references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and one against Dar, on petitions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Imran Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim League’s Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

In its reference against the former minister, NAB had alleged that “the accused had acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million”.

The reference alleged that the assets were “disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for”.

In November last year, the accountability court had declared ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar an absconder and rejected the PML-N leader’s petition in which he sought immunity from hearing of assets beyond known sources of income reference.