FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday upheld bailable arrest warrants issued against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for not appearing before the court in connection with a reference filed against him by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for possessing assets beyond known sources of income.

The court also confirmed NAB’s move to freeze Dar’s assets and properties and adjourned the hearing till Nov 8.

As soon as the accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir began hearing of the case, lawyer Ayesha Hamid, who is junior to Dar’s lead counsel Khawaja Harris, submitted an application and her client’s medical report seeking exemption of his client from personal appearance before the court for one day.

When the judge asked about Harris from Hamid, she said that he is busy and will not appear before the court that day.

While reading Dar’s medical report before the court, Hamid said that her client is ill and cannot move by foot for more than three to four minutes. Dar is facing heart palpitation and doctors will conduct his angiography on Nov 3, therefore, the court is requested to exempt him from personal appearance.

She further informed the court that Dar’s detailed health examination would be conducted on Friday after which his return date will be finalized.

Ahmed Ali, Dar’s surety guarantor, informed the court that Dar is under treatment in London and due to which he cannot appear before the court. To this, the court asked the guarantor to submit a written statement in this regard. NAB Special Prosecutor Imran Shafique while opposing Dar’s exemption plea on medical report adopted the stance that this medical report can not be accepted as there is no mention of any illness in this report.

He contended that angiography could be conducted in Pakistan. “The angiography of the accused can also be conducted here, as angiography of Mufti Abdul Qavi, who has been arrested in the Qandeel Baloch murder case, has been performed in Pakistan,” he added.

Another NAB Special Prosecutor, Afzal Qureshi, told the court that the medial report produced by Dar’s counsel is prepared by a private clinic. Moreover, it is not sent through proper channel, he added.

When the court asked him to identify the proper channel the prosecutor said that it could have been sent through the Foreign Office. The court also asked NAB to verify medical report of Dar.

Qureshi pleaded the court to issue non-bailable arrest warrants against the accused due to his non-appearance in the court.

The court after hearing the arguments of both sides reserved the judgment for some time.

The court later while announcing the judgment dismissed the NAB’s request to issue non-bailable arrest warrants against Dar as well as Dar’s exemption plea. The court also retained the bailable warrants against Dar and adjourned the hearing of case till Nov 8.

During the proceedings, the NAB also submitted assets details of Dar to the court, seeking the court’s endorsement of its order to freeze the assets of the accused.

The assets and properties, both moveable and immoveable, of the accused include: six banks accounts i.e. Hajveri Holding (Pvt) Ltd (account title) in Al Baraka Bank Pakistan, account # 0136000000397; Hajveri Holding (Pvt) Ltd (account title) in Al Baraka Bank Pakistan Ltd, account # 0136750000051; Muhammad Ishaq Dar (account title) in Allied Bank Limited, new account # 0010040798360011 while old account number 0120013420; Hajveri Holdings (Pvt) Ltd (account title) in Bank Alfalah Limited, account # 00281003564734; Muhammad Ishaq Dar (account title) in Bank Alfalah Limited, account # 00281003560890; and Muhammad Ishaq Dar (account title) in Habib Bank Limited, account # 12357900024403.

Hamid while opposing Dar’s asset freeze adopted the stance that NAB cannot freeze assets after submission of a reference. She further told the court that NAB had also sought to freeze assets which Dar had already sold. “All these properties are of 2003 which had been sold in 2007,” she said.

Hamid said that currently two accounts of Dar are active including account # 12357900024403 in Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and account # 0010040798360011 (old account number 0120013420) in Allied Bank Limited (ABL). She further said that Dar has Rs20 million in HBL account and he uses this account for personal expenses. She pleaded that her client should be allowed to withdraw Rs600,000 monthly from HBL account for personal expenses.

She further requested that AGPR deposits Dar’s salary and allowances in his ABL account; therefore, it should not be frozen. Dar and his wife have shares of Rs25,000 and Rs5,200 respectively in Hajveri Holding (Pvt) Ltd. This company is dormant due to which the share value might be zero, she said.

Hamid said that of all the assets and companies abroad that the NAB called upon the court to freeze are Dar’s Dubai properties, which is outside NAB’s jurisdiction since they are in a foreign country.

The NAB prosecutor said that chairman NAB has the power to freeze assets for 15 days. Under the law, the NAB chairman can order freezing of assets of an accused at any time, he said, adding when NAB files reference then it requests for confirmation of freezing orders passed by the chairman NAB.

About Dar’s foreign assets and companies, he said that THE Pakistani court can freeze assets abroad. The court after hearing the arguments of both sides reserved its judgment.

Later, while announcing the judgment, the court ordered to freeze Dar’s all banks accounts except his account in ABL in which AGPR deposits his salary and allowances.

The court also froze Dar’s properties in Pakistan and abroad including those properties which he sold to his children and wife. The court ordered not to freeze those properties which the accused had sold to a third party.

The court also froze Dar’s assets abroad and NAB will submit the same order in Dubai court.