Dar's confession in Hudaibiya scam case can be used against PM: SC

NAB tells SC, finance minister was prosecution witness in Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya scam case

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday claimed before the apex court that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was the prosecution witness in the Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya scam case against the Sharif family.

During the hearing of the Panamagate case, NAB prosecutor general Waqas Kabir Dar submitted a hand-written application by the finance minister to chairman NAB seeking pardon in April 2000.

According to Waqas, Dar had also submitted a confessional statement with the written application in which he said his involvement in the Sharif family's money laundering case was out of free will. Following this, Dar was granted pardon on April 25, 2000.



Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan observed that Dar's confessional statement could be used against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as circumstantial evidence.



The Supreme Court on Friday directed NAB to inform the apex court whether Dar was conditionally or unconditionally pardoned in Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills scam.

The direction by the top court’s five-judge bench, which is hearing a myriad of petitions against the Sharif family over the Panama Papers scandal, came after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a petition seeking the disqualification of Dar over alleged money laundering.



Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who is heading the bench, questioned why the anti-corruption watchdog had failed to file a reference against a Lahore High Court verdict quashing the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharifs.



Further, the bench summoned NAB to present the entire record of Hudaibiya papers scam today. It also questioned PG NAB regarding the agency's failure to file an appeal against Lahore High Court's order to quash the reference against the Sharifs in 2014. Responding to the question, Waqas said the decision to not file an appeal against the order was taken unanimously.

Upon hearing the response, the bench ordered the prosecutor general to submit minutes of the meeting wherein the decision was taken.

Dar's statement proves money trail: Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on Monday said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's confessional statement on Hudaibiya scam case highlights the money trail of Sharif family London flats.

"Ishaq Dar's confessional statement proves PM Nawaz's money trail," Imran said while addressing the media outside the Supreme Court.

Accusing the premier's family of changing statements in the ongoing Panamagate case, Imran said, "Nawaz had told the House he has documents to prove the money trail, where are the documents now?"

"It is ironic how the finance minister of this country is a confessed money launderer, who, committed the act for the prime minister of Pakistan," he added. The PTI chief said PM Nawaz has been lying all along because he was unaware of the power of the Supreme Court.