Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court hearing a graft reference against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday held that the bailable arrest warrants issued against the accused earlier would remain effective as he once again failed to appear before the court.

Judge Muhammad Bashir rejected a fresh application by Dar seeking one-day (Thursday) exemption from personal appearance on the medical grounds.

The court also rejected a plea by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants against the accused minister for not appearing before the court. The court, however, accepted NAB’s earlier request seeking to freeze the assets of Ishaq Dar in Pakistan. All accounts of finance minister, except those operated by the Accountant General Revenue of Pakistan (AGPR), will stand frozen after the court order.

The court also rejected another request by Dar seeking to spend Rs 0.6 million monthly from his accounts for personal expenses.

Neither Ishaq Dar nor his senior counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmad appeared before the court on Thursday. However, Ayesha Hamid, another counsel for Dar, submitted before the court a medical certificate of the accused.

She requested the court to grant exemption to his client from personal appearance from Thursday’s proceedings.

She stated that the detailed medical examination of her client will be conducted on Friday, thus the date for his return will be finalised after his medical check-up.

The medical report of a London-based health facility stated that Dar was severally ill and could not stand or walk for more than four minutes at a stretch.

It said Dar was facing heart palpitations and doctors have recommended him to undergo angiography, preferably on November 3.

NAB’s Prosecutor Imran Shafique, however, opposed the plea seeking issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants of the accused, contending that the accused was using delaying tactics to prolong the trial.

Raising objections to the medical report, the prosecutor contended that it was taken from a private hospital and was not submitted to the court through the prescribed channeln.

To a court query, he said the report should have been submitted in the court through the Foreign Office, which should have received it from the Pakistan High Commission in UK.

The minister’s ‘guarantor’ appeared and informed the court that Dar was in London for his medical treatment. The court directed the four prosecution witnesses – all officials of various private banks – who were present in the court to again appear on the next hearing.

During the hearing, NAB also submitted details of Dar’s assets and again sought orders for freezing of his assets. Dar’s counsel then argued that NAB could not freeze the assets of her client abroad at this stage. She stated that the assets of her client being asked by the NAB to be frozen were the Dubai properties of his client, which were outside the court’s jurisdiction, being in a foreign country.

She contended that out of total four, only one account of her client was operational having balance of Rs 20 million, whereas the three other accounts had a balance of Rs 1,990, Rs 232 and Rs 10 respectively.

She said NAB was also seeking to freeze the assets of her client which had already been sold out.

The prosecutor argued that NAB chairman could freeze the assets only for 15 days under the law, thus the court should order freezing of his assets.

He stated that since Pakistan did not have any understanding with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for freezing the assets of any citizen, thus a Pakistani court might request the UAE government to freeze Dar’s assets over there and the UAE court could rule on it. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till November 8.

Published in Daily Times, November 3^rd 2017.