ISLAMABAD: The accountability court on Monday recorded the statements of four more prosecution witnesses who testified against former finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar, who is facing corruption reference pertaining to having assets beyond his known and declared sources of income.
After recording the statements, judge Muhammad Bashir directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors to produce more witnesses on the next hearing. The court rejected a request by Dar seeking to replace his counsel Qusain Faisal Mufti with Qazi Misbah in the assets reference. The court directed NAB prosecutors to submit report over confiscation of properties of Dar and his guarantor Ahmad Ali Quddusi, who had furnished a surety bond of Rs 5 million for Dar but failed to produce him before the court. Despite court orders, Quddusi also did not turn up on last three hearings. NAB’s witnesses who testified against Dar are: Faisal Shehzad, an employee of a private bank, Deputy Secretary Cabinet Division Wasif Hussain, Deputy Director Commerce Qamar Zaman and National Assembly Director Sherdil Khan. Another witness, Qaboos Aziz, a former director of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), could not record his statement due to the shortage of time. Faisal Shehzad submitted the details of bank accounts of Dar as well as his wife.
Wasif Hussain presented the details of Dar’s appointment as finance minister and recorded his statement. Qamar Zaman submitted the details pertaining to Dar’s income and allowances when he was commerce minister from 1997 to 1999 and recorded his statement. Sherdil Khan produced the record pertaining to various portfolios held by Dar since 1990 to 2017 and recorded his statement.
Published in Daily Times, December 19th 2017.
