Assets reference: Court rejects Dar's exemption plea, adjourns hearing till Wed

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court hearing a corruption case against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected on Monday Dar's plea to be exempted from appearance, observing that the accused needs to be present when the witnesses record their statements and are cross-examined.  

As the hearing in the assets reference case filed by NAB began on Monday, the finance minister appeared in court amid tight security measures. 

Hussain Mufti, Dar's associate counsel, informed the judge that Harris will be available to appear at noon. He also pleaded the judge to exempt his client from the hearing today due to official work. 

However, Judge Mohammad Bashir remarked that the lead counsel can present the exemption arguments when he appears in court. He observed further that the accused needs to be present when witnesses are recording statements [and thus cannot be exempted from appearance].

This was the finance minister's fifth appearance in the court of Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir.

The judge then ordered a recess until noon, directing the minister to appear again with his lead counsel. 

Strict security arrangements were in place at the court with a heavy deployment of police and Frontier Constabulary personnel. 

As the hearing resumed around noon, lead counsel Khawaja Harris appeared in court and argued for his client's exemption. 

However, the NAB prosecutor argued that the minister should relieve himself of his 'duties' and be present in court. The judge then ruled what he had observed earlier — that the accused has to be present in court when the witnesses record their statements and are cross-examined.

Conducting the cross-examination of Tariq Javed of Al Baraka Bank, Harris accused the witness of lying in court after the witness said he has not read the documents submitted in detail and only given then a cursory look.

Javed had recorded his statement and presented bank records at the last hearing. 

Later, Harris completed his cross-examination. 

The hearing was then adjourned until 11:30am, October 18.

For the next hearing, the court has summoned Masood Ghani of Habib Bank and Abdul Rahman Gondal of Allied Bank to record their statements and then be cross-examined by Dar's counsel. 

Previous hearing 

At the last hearing on October 12 — that saw the powerful ruling party member staying in court for around eight hours —, two prosecution witnesses recorded their statements and submitted details of bank accounts linked to Dar. 

Dar's counsel objected to the veracity of the documents submitted by Tariq Javed of Al Baraka Bank — one of the witnesses — saying if the court desires continuing proceedings in such a manner, then the case will be wrapped up in a few days.

"Electronic statements cannot be taken as primary evidence," Harris argued, requesting the court to make his objection part of its record.

However, NAB Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq countered that it is the court’s job to decide what constitutes as primary evidence and that any missing or unverified documents can be added and corrected later.

Later, Shahid Aziz of the National Investment Trust (NIT) gave his testimony.

The NAB has submitted a list of 28 witnesses with the accountability court, which is hearing the Supreme Court-directed case against Dar and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family. 

Dar — who was indicted on September 27 for owning assets beyond his known sources of income — has denied all charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court.

The minister also challenged his indictment and trial in the Islamabad High Court but the pleas were dismissed with directions to take them to Justice Ijazul Ahsan — the Supreme Court judge monitoring the corruption references.

The reference

The corruption reference pertaining to Dar's owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income was filed by the NAB in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

After skipping his first hearing — for which a summons had been issued —Dar appeared in court later after bailable warrants for his arrest were been issued to ensure his presence.

The judge then directed Dar to deposit a Rs. 5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the hearings.