Accountability court cancels arrest warrant of Ishaq Dar
Another sigh of relief for PML-N, an accountability court has cancelled the arrest warrant of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the assets beyond means case filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the case of Senator Ishaq Dar, in which the Finance Minister appeared in the court along with his lawyer.
During the hearing, Ishaq Dar’s lawyer pleaded for permanent cancellation of the arrest warrant and said that the order of confiscation of Ishaq Dar’s property should also be cancelled as he is now available to appear before the court.
On the stand of Dar’s lawyer, the judge inquired whether NAB itself had issued any arrest warrant for Ishaq Dar, to which, the investigating officer replied that NAB had issued warrants but they were suspended.
Later, the court canceled the arrest warrant of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the surety bond of Rs1 million.
The case:
On July 28, 2017, upon the petition of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, JI supreme leader Siraj-ul-Haq and Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rasheed, the Supreme Court ordered to file three cases against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the then Finance Minister Ishaq.
A reference was filed against Ishaq Dar in the accountability court for having assets beyond means of his income.
In the reference filed against Ishaq Dar, Section 14C was imposed, which deals with possession of assets beyond means, which carries a 14-year jail term upon conviction.
In the reference against Ishaq Dar, NAB alleged that he had acquired assets and financial benefits in his name or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx).
It was alleged in the reference that the “assets were disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for”.
Later, the then government withdrew the finance ministry from Ishaq Dar.
On November 14, 2017, the court had issued Dar’s non-bailable arrest warrants and on December 11, the court had declared Dar an absconder after he repeatedly failed to join the trial.
