Daily Times

A day after the Punjab government converted former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s residence here into a Panagah [shelter home], Ishaq Dar has termed the move an “unprecedented political victimisation” against opposition leaders.

Earlier, the Punjab government announced the conversion of Dar’s house into a Panagah by placing a signboard outside the residence. The district administration also put beds in all 12 rooms of the 4-kanal and 17 marla house. The shelter, which is run by the Department of Social Welfare, will be able to accommodate a total of 50 people.

Reacting to the move, Dar, in a video statement posted on the party’s official Twitter handle, said, “I have just come to know that nexus of Imran Niazi [prime minister] and Punjab government has designated my residence for homeless after failing in their bid to auction the property.”

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader who is living in self-imposed exile in London, has announced that he will file a contempt of court application against the Punjab government for violating the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) January 28 directives.

The IHC had barred the officials from auctioning Dar’s Gulberg residence on his wife Tabassum Ishaq’s petition against the accountability court’s verdict.

She had contended that the house was owned by her as it was given to her by Dar as Haq-e-Mahar on February 14, 1989.“I will approach the court against them because this is a contempt of court,” the former finance minister can be heard saying in the video statement.

The decision to auction his house, Dar said, was taken on the basis of “flawed” court decision which declared him absconder in assets beyond means case. “Declaring me absconder was unjust. I had submitted medical reports verified by UK authorities and I have also filed an application in the Supreme Court against [accountability court] verdict which is awaiting hearing,” he added.

Terming the case mala fide, the PML-N leader said the case against him is based on a Joint Investigation Team;s (JIT) findings, “falsely” accusing him of not filing tax returns of last 20 years. “I have evidence and documents and I hope that courts in Pakistan will serve me justice,” Dar said, adding that he could have also approached the international fora against the injustice being carried out against him by the incumbent government but he chose not to.

Dar has been absconding court proceedings since 2017 following the registration of reference against him. Later on, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) confiscated his various bank accounts worth Rs500 million and his house.