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Charges framed against co-accused in Dar assets case

Charges framed against co-accused in Dar assets case
April 5, 2018
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – An accountability court (AC) on Thursday indicted the three co-accused in supplementary asset beyond income reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in line with the Supreme Court directive in the Panamagate case. The accountability court (AC) judge Muhammad Bashir was conducting hearing of supplementary asset beyond income reference against the former finance minister. In today’s hearing, all three suspects were present in court today, while Judge Muhammad Bashir read out the charges. The co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges after which the court summoned prosecution witness. The court then adjourned hearing till April 11. Previously, the charges against Dar followed an investigation into the finances of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted in July after the Supreme Court disqualified him for not declaring salary from his son’s off-shore company. The finance minister is one of Sharif’s closest political allies and Dar’s son has married Sharif’s daughter. Both men deny any wrongdoing. Dar had resigned from his post amid his legal woes and a worsening economic outlook for Pakistan, which is battling to stave off a balance of payments crisis due to dwindling foreign currency reserve and a widening current account deficit. He was initially lauded for steering Pakistan out of a balance of payments crisis in 2013 and returning the nuclear-armed country towards a higher growth trajectory. But over the past year, he has faced criticism for his refusal to allow the rupee to weaken to ease macroeconomic pressures. He has also been accused of eroding the central bank’s independence.