FIA to use Dar’s confession as evidence against Shehbaz

PML-N president had allegedly deposited $18m in an account in his capacity as Punjab chief minister

LAHORE:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has decided to present a confessional statement of PML-N leader Ishaq Dar against party president and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif as evidence.

According to Express News, the investigation agency has prepared a “strong case” against Shehbaz, who is also the former chief minister of Punjab, for his “involvement in money laundering and opening benami accounts”.

Quoting Dar, the FIA in its challan stated that Shehbaz, in his capacity as then Punjab chief minister during the 1997 government, had opened a benami account in the name of Siddiqa Syed Mahfooz Hashim Khadim, who hailed from Bahrain.

The FIA challan said that $18 million were deposited in Siddiqa’s account, adding that Dar’s confessional statement was presented as evidence in Panama JIT report.

It was said that Shehbaz had been involved in the opening of benami accounts and money laundering and that the confessional statement had not been retracted from any judicial forum.

Sources said that another major step has been taken by the FIA to prove money laundering against Shehbaz by presenting the Hudaibiya Mills case as evidence in contravention of the Supreme Court order.

It was further said that Hudaibiya case had been decided but by presenting it as evidence would prove that the PML-N president had been involved in money laundering.

Sources said that all the evidence would be presented in the court during hearing on Friday (today).
Last month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), while following a ruling of the Supreme Court, restored the Senate membership of Dar.

According to an ECP statement, the commission took back its notification about suspension of the membership of Dar on Supreme Court’s December 21, 2021, order in which the apex court dismissed a plea against him, thus vacating its May 9, 2018 stay against the issuance of notification in favour of the former finance minister by the ECP.

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Currently in London, Dar was elected senator in March 2018. He had not taken oath as the member of the upper house of parliament. However, his Senate membership remained suspended from June 2018 to January 2022.

In September last year, the government promulgated the Election Third Amendment Ordinance, which is valid until April 2022, binding an elected person to take oath of office within 40 days of the issuance of the notification of his election, otherwise the seat would be considered vacant.