ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reached the accountability court and the hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference which is under supervision of the Supreme Court resumed on Thursday (Today).
Witness Tariq Javed submitted the details of three different bank accounts including Hajveri Modarba (Dar’s own company),Hajveri Holdings and Tabbasum Ishaq Dar’s account.
Tariq Javed stated that one account was opened in Lahore’s bank in 1991 by Ishaq Dar, and everything that can be used against the finance minister as evidences has been provided to the NAB.
Javed said that he has been affiliated with the bank since 1999 and only appeared before court because NAB had written a letter to the bank adding that NAB had asked the bank to provide attested details of Ishaq Dar’s account, so he took the verified details and documents and presented them before the NAB officials in Lahore on August 17.
Previously two witnesses,Tariq Javed and Shahid Aziz had been summoned by the accountability court and their statements were also recorded for future references.
Dar was accompanied by State Information Technology Minister Anusha Rehman and Federal Privatisation Minister Daniyal Aziz for the hearing.
NAB has reportedly submitted a 28-witness list to the court which is hearing the assets case against Dar.
Security was tight inside the judicial complex and around it and all routes leading to the complex have been blocked off apart from one route, as to prevent any unauthorized entry.
Two witnesses appeared before the accountability court on the last hearing, namely senior vice president of Bank Al-Baraka and Ishtiaq Ali of Bank Alfalah.
From the two witnesses, only Ali recorded his statement and was cross examined by Dar’s counsel where Dar’s counsel, Advocate Amjad Pervez stated that the documents submitted to the court were mere copies, and that original documents should be provided if they are to be considered.
The accountability courts Judge Muhammad Bashir remarked that the verification of the documents does not matter because these are bank documents, he said that these papers are according to the electronics transaction ordinance and that the objections the minister consel raised are invaild.
He also stated that the court decides if the documents are to be considered.
Dar’s counsel, Khawaja Haris said that no transactions had been made from the account in question since 2006 while requesting the court to consider Dar’s objections as a part of the record.
It is pertinent to mention here that. the corruption reference was filed due to Dar owning assets not mentioned in his sources of income and was filed by NAB under supervision of the Supreme Court’s July 28 Panama Papers judgment.
Later Federal Privatisation Minister Danial Aziz while talking to media stated that a 522-page record book had been presented before the court adding that Dar’s name was not even in the Panama Paper documents, claiming that this case is being politicised.