Court summons Dar, surety-giver on 14th

Court says surety bond may be confiscated on next no-show

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Wednesday ordered incumbent finance minister Ishaq Dar’s surety-giver to appear in court in person while also ensuring Dar appears before the court on November 14, the next date of hearing.

Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir while issuing a warning to Dar’s surety-giver said that the court will confiscate surety bonds -worth Rs5 million - if they failed to appear before the court.

Meanwhile, the court rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request to issue non-bailable warrant of arrests against Dar. The bailable warrant issued for him earlier still holds.

At the outset, Dar’s counsel Ayesha Hamid filed an application seeking exemption from his personal appearance and to appoint Zaafir Khan as his pleader in court so that the proceedings are not disturbed because of his absence.

Ayesha also sought for an exemption on medical grounds, stating that although Dar has been examined by a doctor, he is not satisfied with his reports and is seeking a second opinion.



While opposing the application, NAB prosecutor Imran Shafiq said that Dar wanted to be examined by another doctor because he was not being diagnosed to his liking. Shafiq added that the report - that Dar is deeming unsatisfactory - has not been presented before the court while he is not acting bona fide.

Shafiq, while citing one of the previous medical reports Dar had submitted, said it only says Dar was feeling discomfort. He said that the report was based mainly on guesswork, therefore, Dar’s application should be turned down and the court should issue non-bailable arrest warrant against him.

Ayesha responded that Dar was not looking for a diagnosis of his liking and one only has to search for his doctors’ names on Google, to establish his consulting doctor’s credibility.

 



Following the arguments, the judge said that the application for the exemption from personal appearance and the appointment of a pleader would be looked into once Dar personally appears before the court. While summoning Dar and his surety-giver on the next hearing, the court adjourned the case till November 14.

During the previous hearing, the court confirmed that NAB had frozen all of Dar’s local and international assets, properties, bank accounts and investments, except for an account with the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue.

On September 27, the accountability court indicted Dar for amassing assets beyond known sources of income and directed the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidence for establishing its case.

Dar had pleaded not guilty and is standing trial in the NAB reference filed against him in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment on July 28 in the Panamagate case.