Thursday, September 21, 2017
By
Ashraf Malkham

Calls for Ishaq Dar's resignation echo in Senate finance committee

By
Ashraf Malkham
|

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance sought on Thursday the resignation of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar until the corruption case against him is wrapped up, reported Geo News.

The meeting of the committee, headed by Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Saleem Mandviwala, was held at Parliament House. 

Several participants of the meeting claimed that daily news coverage of the hearing against Dar will damage the country and the finance ministry’s credibility. 

However, the finance secretary, who was also present in the meeting, did not agree with the committee's point of view on the matter. 

Dar was summoned to appear in the accountability court of Islamabad on Wednesday in connection with a reference by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for possessing assets beyond declared sources of income. The reference had been ordered by the Supreme Court in its July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

As the hearing began in Judge Mohammad Bashir's court, Dar's protocol officer Fazal Dad appeared in court and informed the judge that the minister is presently in London.

The NAB prosecutor pleaded the court to issue arrest warrants to ensure Dar's presence in court. Following this, the court ordered bailable warrants of arrest for the finance minister.

The court ordered for submission of the bail bond of Rs1 million and adjourned the hearing until September 25, ordering Dar to be present in court at the next hearing. Dar was also directed to nominate someone who would serve as a bail bondsperson.

Later in the day, a NAB Lahore team raided Dar's residence in Islamabad.

NAB officials questioned servants present at the residence and told them they had warrants for the minister. They also made sure Dar was not present at home.

Before leaving, the officials got a receiving of arrest orders and summons from the servants. 

However, NAB denied having carried out a 'raid', saying the team only went to deliver the court notice.