ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday issued permanent arrest warrants against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar over his prolonged absence in a probe into his assets.
The court barred trial against the co-accused in the case until Dar, who is living in self-exile in London since 2017, is arrested and adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period of time.
The release of co-suspects — former National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) president Saeed Ahmed, and Mansoor Raza Rizvi and Naeem Mehmood who were directors of Dar’s Hajveri Modaraba — on bail was also associated with the arrest of the absconding minister. “The proceedings will not go forward until Ishaq Dar is presented before this court,” Judge Muhammad Bashir said.
During the hearing, Afzal Qureshi, a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor, and a suspect appeared before the court.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Lahore accountability court had declared former minister Ishaq Dar as absconder in December 2017 for non-compliance in the corruption reference and the court had also issued orders to confiscate all the properties of the accused mentioned in the NAB reference.
He was issued a fresh passport in April following the removal of then-prime minister Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence.
