Assets reference against Dar adjourned due to defense counsel’s ailment
April 19, 2018
ISLAMABAD: The assets accumulation reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar was adjourned Thursday morning due to the ailment of defense counsel.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed an interim reference against Dar in September last year on the Supreme Court's directives in the Panama Papers case.
During the court proceedings, the court was requested to delay recording witnesses' statements against the co-accused in the case as defense counsel was ill.
The court then adjourned the hearing till April 25 (Wednesday).
On April 4, the co-accused named in the supplementary corruption reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar were finally indicted after several adjournments.
In a supplementary reference filed earlier this year, NAB named National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi as co-accused. The latter two have been identified as directors of one of Dar's companies. All three are accused of aiding Dar in opening fictitious bank accounts and transferring money abroad.
The case
Dar, a close aide of Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
NAB filed an interim reference against Dar in September last year in light of the Supreme Court's July 28, 2017, verdict in the Panama Papers case.
The recently-filed supplementary reference is based on seven volumes and includes the account details of the accused persons, with transactions amounting to $4.06 million, according to NAB's Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq.
Dar was re-elected to the Senate of Pakistan earlier this year.
