Perpetual arrest warrant for Dar re-issued in assets beyond means case

An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday re-issued a perpetual arrest warrant of arrest for former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Ishaq Dar in the assets beyond means case against him.

Justice Muhammad Bashir, while hearing acquittal pleas filed by the co-accused in the case, said the proceedings in the case will only move forward once Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile in London, will be arrested.

Afzal Qureshi, a prosecutor for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and the lawyers of the co-accused appeared before the court.

The judge said the decision on the appeal seeking acquittal will be announced following the PML-N leader's arrest and his presence in this court.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing of the case till the detention of the PML-N leader.

Read: Ready to take oath, Dar tells ECP

In December 2017, an accountability court declared the former finance minister an absconder over his non-compliance with the authorities concerned in the corruption reference.

In 2019, following the orders of an accountability court, then Punjab government had sought the auctioning of Dar’s property. However, the decision was challenged by his wife before an appellate court.

Earlier this year, the court had withdrawn its order and the NAB was allowed to go ahead with the auction. Subsequently in February this year, NAB wrote a letter to the Lahore deputy commissioner asking them to auction the house without delay.

The four-kanal bungalow located in Lahore’s Gulberg area is estimated to have a market price of Rs250 million and NAB wants it to be auctioned under Section 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).