Assets Beyond Income Case: AC adjourns hearing until Oct 30

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar today (Monday) appeared before an anti-corruption court for the seventh time in his trial in a graft case in the Panama Papers scandal. The accountability court (AC) judge Muhammad Bashir heard the assets beyond income reference against Ishaq Dar. During the proceedings, the AC recorded statements of two prosecution witnesses Masoodul Ghani of Habib Bank and Abdul Rahman Gondal of Allied Bank against the finance minister. Khawaja Harris, the counsel of Ishaq Dar will cross examined the witnesses. The anti-corruption watchdog submitted a report of seizing the assets of the federal minister and also filed an application to verify the decision of freezing Ishaq Dar’s assets. While recording his statement Abdul Rahman Gondal of Allied Bank told the court that the federal minister’s account was opened in March 25, 2005 and he had provided account statement from 2005 to 2007 to NAB Investigation Officer. The witness told the court that the bank documents were prepared in his presence and bears his signatures. Gondal said he had provided bank statements of Dar ranging from March 25, 2005 to August 16, 2017 to NAB. The bank transaction details provided by the witness were made part of case record by the court. The court also issued notice to Ishaq Dar on application related to freezing his assets. The judge had then adjourned the proceedings until October 30. The court had indicted Dar last month in a NAB case pertaining to his owning assets "beyond his known sources of income". On October 19, the anti-graft court had indicted Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law in a corruption case related to the Avenfield properties in London. The case was one of the three cases registered by the NAB on September 8 against 67-year-old Sharif, his children and son-in-law in the Accountability Court in Islamabad.