ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Wednesday recorded the statement of first prosecution witness against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a reference filed against him after the Supreme Court’s July 28 orders in the Panama Papers case. In compliance with the court’s earlier orders, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced two witnesses – Ishtiaq Ali, a former manager of Bank Alfalah and senior vice-president of Bank Al Baraka Tariq Javed – before accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir. However, the court recorded the statement of only Ishtiaq Ali and directed that Tariq Javed along with another witness, Shahid Aziz, a senior official of the National Investment Trust, be produced on the next hearing on October 12 for recording their statements. In his statement, the witness testified that Tabassam Ishaq, wife of Ishaq Dar, is the owner of a security company working under the name of HDS Securities Private Limited. He said Dar also holds an account in the Bank Alfalah. Dar, however, stated that he had opened an account in Bank Alfalah in 2005 but had closed it after one year. Cross examining the witness, Dar’s senior counsel Khawaja Haris objected on the authenticity of the documents presented by the NAB. He said the documents were photocopies and that too unverified. He contended that under the law, Ishtiaq Ali had no locus standi to give any statement before the court as he was not a custodian of the documents he produced before the court. Besides, he said, even he was not employee of the bank at that time, as he worked with that bank in 2005 whereas the record he produced before the court was of 2001 and 2005. Published in Daily Times, October 5th 2017.