An accountability court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for former prime minister Shaukat Aziz over exceeding his powers and causing losses to the national exchequer. Accountability Court Judge Arshad Malik issued the warrants over Aziz’s continued absence from the proceedings. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against the former prime minister and others in July this year. Aziz served as the prime minister of Pakistan from August 2004 to November 2007. The court approved a petition filed by Liaquat Jatoi, Ismail Korai, Shahid Hamid and Naseem Akhtar seeking exemption from appearing before it. However, it expressed displeasure over the absence of other nominated accused. The court also issued arrest warrants for accused Arifuddin over his continuous absence. The hearing was later adjourned until November 1. Published in Daily Times, September 12th 2018.