ISLAMABAD: The accountability court on Monday declared Senator Ishaq Dar a proclaimed offender due to his continued absence from the trial. Judge Muhammad Bashir directed Ahmad Ali Quddusi, who has furnished a surety bond of Rs 5 million as bail guarantee for Ishaq Dar, to produce the accused within three days, otherwise his bail bond will be confiscated. The court also directed Quddusi to submit Rs 0.5 million for the bail of Dar and if he did not submit the amount and produce the accused, the land papers of Dar will be seized. When the court resumed the hearing, Dar’s counsel Faisal Mufti submitted a fresh medical report of his client in the court pleading that his client should not be declared a proclaimed offender as he was undergoing treatment in a medical facility in London. According to the medical report, Dar is suffering from chest pain and has also problems with his coronary artery. NAB’s special prosecutor Imran Shafique, however, opposed the plea, contending that the accused was not suffering from any ailment and was deliberately skipping the trial. He contended that the medical reports of the accused submitted so far were different from each other. Dar’s counsel, however, responded that NAB could get the reports verified. During the hearing, a former deputy prosecutor general of NAB, Qazi Misbah, requested the court to allow him to appear on behalf of Ishaq Dar as his counsel. But the court rejected his request stating that he could not be allowed to appear for the accused as he was not his counsel in the case. Later, the court adjourned the hearing until December 14. Published in Daily Times, December 12th 2017.