ISLAMABAD Oct 16 (TNS): Corruption proceedings against Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar have been postponed until noon today owing to the absence of Dar’s lead counsel, Khawaja Harris.
As the hearing in the assets reference case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (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.
This is 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 are in place at the court with a heavy deployment of police and Frontier Constabulary personnel.
NAB’s fourth witness, Masood Ghani of Habib Bank, will record his statement with the court today and then be cross-examined by Dar’s counsel.
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 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.
