ISLAMABAD: Accountability Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of assets beyond means reference against former Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar till October 03.
Judge Muhammad Bashir of accountability court was hearing the case. During the hearing accused Saeed Ahmed, Mansoor Raza and Naeem Mehmood appeared before the court. Counsel of Saeed Ahmed, Hashmat Habib cross-examined defence witness, Mohsin Amjad.
Dar opened his bank account on December 28, 1994 and closed first foreign account on March 16, 2006, said Mohsin Amjad.
Mohsin Amjad further added that bank did not investigate the said accounts.
Referring to a question about the difference of Dar’s sign on passport and bank account, Mohsin Amjad said he informed higher authorities about it, but no action was taken out.
Earlier on September 19, the Supreme Court (SC) issued directives to remove former finance minister Ishaq Dar from the chairman’s post of University of Health Sciences (UHS) Board of Governor.
Ishaq Dar who was re-elected chairman of the BoG in December 2015 for a term of three years had been declared absconder in corruption cases.A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the suo motu notice case.
The CJP remarked that the meeting of the university’s Board of Governors should take place after every two years as per rules and regulations, however; no such session has happened till date since 2016.
“The chairman has escaped from the country while the court has issued his red warrants while declaring him an absconder. The BoG is currently dysfunctional due to the absence of chairman,” added SC.The court has ordered to appoint a new chairman of UHS Board of Governors within three days. The Chief Justice has also sought a reply from the foreign ministry and other stake holders.
The former finance minister is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
A reference against the former finance minister was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.Dar had earlier been declared a proclaimed offender by the accountability court due to his continuous absence from the proceedings.
In November 2017, then-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had accepted Dar’s request to be relieved of his duties as the finance minister. INP