Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court on Monday recorded the statements of five more prosecution witnesses who testified against former finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar. The former minister is facing a corruption reference for having assets beyond his declared and known sources of income. After recording the statements, judge Muhammad Bashir directed the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) prosecutor Imran Shafique to produce more witnesses in next two days so that the proceedings could be wrapped up within the stipulated time.

In his statement, Ishtiaq Ahmad, an inland reverence commissioner, stated that the wealth of Ishaq Dar increased enormously from 1993 to 2009. Giving breakup, he said in 1993, Dar owned total assets of Rs 9.1 million, whereas in 2009 he had the assets of Rs 830 million. He said Dar paid Rs 0.7million tax in 1993, while in 2009 he paid Rs 40 million tax.

Besides, prosecution witnesses Umar Daraz, Shakeel Anjum Nagra, Iqbal Hassan and District Officer Industries Lahore Asghar Hussain also recorded their statements. Another witness, Inam-ur-Rehman, could not record his statement due to ill health. NAB prosecutor sought permission of the court to add two more witnesses to the prosecution list, which the court granted. He stated that Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) senior officials Sidra Mansoor and Salman Saeed will produce records of Dar’s companies.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing till today (Tuesday). On the last hearing held on Jan 26, six prosecution witnesses had testified against Dar. Out of total 28 prosecution witnesses, 23 have so far recorded their statements. A corruption reference was filed against Ishaq Dar following the Supreme Court’s July 28, 2017, orders in the Panama Papers case. Dar is absent from the trail since October last year, when he went abroad for medical treatment.

Published in Daily Times, January 30^th 2018.