IHC dismisses Ishaq Dar's petition seeking to set aside earlier judgement

Dismissal vacates stay granted earlier

ISLAMABAD:  

The Islamabad High Court dismissed petition filed by former finance minister Ishaq Dar requesting the court to set aside orders of November 11, December 11 and all preceding orders through which the court issued bailable and non-bailable warrants of arrest and later declared him a proclaimed offender within 10 days.

The division bench, comprising of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, has upheld accountability court’s order to declare him a proclaimed offender. The dismissal has also vacated stay granted earlier.

Earlier the IHC division bench had raised questions over the trial court’s orders against Dar and sought arguments to determine if the trial court exercised its discretion in accordance with law; whether orders are sustainable on the touchstone of reasonableness and if initiating proceedings against Dar were in consonance with law.



In response to an order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through which it stayed proceedings before the trial court, special prosecutor of the country’s top graft buster, Imran Shafique submitted a detailed reply in the IHC on Monday, in which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accused the former minister Dar of playing ‘hide and seek’ with the accountability court conducting his trial in connection with a reference accusing Dar of amassing assets beyond means.

NAB said that the petitioner is bound to disclose his bonafide; which is miserably lacking in the current matter, therefore, the petitioner is debarred from invoking the jurisdiction of the IHC.

The anti-graft body accused Dar of being “guilty of playing hide and seek with the court of competent jurisdiction,” adding that the court was constrained to pass an order taking coercive measures against the accused and that “with such contumacious conduct” he cannot approach the IHC.

In the arguments stated in the petition, Shafique said that the last medical report was submitted by the accused on December 5, which is based upon the conclusion of the doctor regarding cardiac problems allegedly faced by the accused.



“Even if taken as gospel truth, and relied upon as sacrosanct, even then the report itself is sufficient to refute the petitioner’s stated cardiac problem,” Shafique stated.

While relying upon a medical report, NAB has concluded that Dar is not suffering from any disease which cannot be treated within the country; he has no major medical issue and life threatening disease, neither is there any restriction on the movement and travel of the accused as suggested by him.

Shafique continued that Dar, through his counsel, has produced seven medical reports before the trial court and all medical reports, if put together, are not only inconsistent and contradictory, rather they are sufficient to expose the malafide intent of the “petitioner who in order to escape the court staged the drama of a serious heart problem.”

He took adjournments spreading over the period of 81 days (11 weeks and 03 days) from the last absence, said Shafique. Adding that the reports are blatantly violating laws of the country from which they have been produced.