Ishaq Dar appears in accountability court; to be indicted on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reached the Islamabad Accountability Court on Monday to attend the hearing of a corruption case against him. 

Judge Mohammad Bashir directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to provide Dar with a copy of the case documents. 

The judge then set September 27 as the next date of hearing when the finance minister will be formally indicted by the court. Dar was also directed to submit the surety bond worth Rs1 million. 

Dar's counsel asked the court to be granted seven days for perusing the reference against his client, as it is spread over 23 volumes. 

Dar to step down if court rejects bail: sources

Bailable warrants of arrest for the finance minister were issued after he failed to appear in court

The judge denied the request and observed that the court has to complete the trial in six months.

"If you take a month to read the reference how will we wrap up proceedings in the given time," the judge asked, observing further that two days are enough to go over the reference.  

The judge observed that they will conduct daily hearings in the case. The court also directed Dar to deposit a Rs5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the next hearing  

Talking to Geo News after the hearing, Dar's counsel, Amjad Pervez, said they expect the courts to dispense justice. "No one will object to daily proceedings if all tenets of justice are adhered to," he said while answering a question. 

At the last hearing, the court had issued warrants for Dar's arrest as he failed to appear in court to face charges of having assets beyond his known sources of income. 

The corruption reference was filed by the NAB in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case. 

Dar returned to the country last night from London along with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.