An accountability court on Tuesday resumed proceedings of a corruption reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar who is accused of owning assets beyond means.
Judge Muhammad Bashir of Accountability Court I resumed hearing the case. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood, and Mansoor Rizvi, who are also suspects in the case, were present.
The prosecution presented its witnesses, including Faisal Shehzad – an employee of a private bank – who presented details of the account and cheque. Advocate Qazi Misbah asked Shehzad if he had prepared the transaction details himself, to Shehzad replied in negative. Other witnesses who recorded their statements earlier include Ali Akram Bhandar, Qamar Zaman, Mirza Faiz-ur-Rehman, Inam-ul-Haq, Shakeel Anjum, and Azhar Hussain.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed an interim reference against Dar in September last year, following the Supreme Court’s July 28, 2017, verdict in the Panama Papers case.
The supplementary reference is based on seven volumes and includes account details of the suspects, showing transactions amounting to $4.06m. The NAB accused NBP President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi of aiding Dar in opening fictitious bank accounts and transferring money abroad.
Summoning prosecution witnesses Muhammad Ishtiaq, Umar Daraz, Qamar Zaman, the court adjourned the hearing till August 15.
Published in Daily Times, August 8th 2018.
