Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Friday fixed the petition of former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar regarding his appeal against the order of the accountability court declaring him an absconder in a corruption case.

The two-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi will hear the case on September 21. In his petition in the Supreme Court, PML-N senator said that he was in the United Kingdom (UK) due to his prolonged illness and the cancelation of his passport by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in 2018.

He said that due to the cancelation of the passport, he could not travel between September 2018 and May 2022. However, the applicant said he received a new passport in May this year. Hence, he pleaded with the top court to order an immediate hearing of his pending application in the accountability court.

In November 2017, Ishaq Dar was declared an absconder by an accountability court in Islamabad in a corruption reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The former finance minister had previously announced to return to Pakistan in the end of July. However, his advisers suggested him to extend his stay in London until the top court completes adjudication on his petition.

The former prime minister Nawaz Sharif also directed PML-N-led government to resolve legal complications and contrive a suitable environment for Dar’s return to Pakistan.