ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Burau (NAB) prosecutor informed the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday that the former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s local property has been seized while they were trying to find out his foreign assets.
Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that consultations are underway with concerned departments regarding bringing Ishaq Dar back.
A three-member bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar resumed hearing a case pertaining to Dar’s return to the country. As the hearing commenced, the Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor said, “Dar’s diplomatic and other passport has been cancelled.”
On NAB’s request, the Ministry of Interior has blacklisted the former finance minister, he further said. When the attorney general informed the court that Dar has no valid travel documents, justice Nisar questioned that then how will he return to Pakistan? “There is a system in place via which he can be brought back,” the attorney general responded.
CJP inquired whether the AGP has reviewed this matter. The attorney general told that he had spoken to concerned authorities regarding Dar’s return. Justice Nisar then stressed, declaring Dar absconder doesn’t bring him back.
The attorney general responded that we don’t have an extradition treaty with British government but we can work on that. For that we will have to take this matter up in the courts over there, he added.
Further, during the hearing, the NAB prosecutor shared the details of several of Dar’s properties and informed the court that the records regarding properties will be submitted together after inquiry.
The former finance minister is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
The case itself involves the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiating proceedings against Ishaq Dar for possessing assets that do not equate with his known sources of income, and follows the original Supreme Court verdict in the historic Panama Papers case verdict in July 2017.
NAB had filed an interim reference against Dar in September 2017, who was later indicted in the case but has been absconding since then.
The national watchdog later filed references against National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, and held them as co-accused in the case.
