Dar challenges indictment in Islamabad High Court

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar challenged on Monday his indictment by an accountability court hearing a corruption reference against him in Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The corruption reference, pertaining to Dar's owning assets that are disproportionate to his known sources of income, was filed by the National Accountability Bureau in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

Dar, in his petition, stated that he was indicted by the accountability court without giving him the mandated time and requested the IHC to suspend the indictment proceedings. 

Ishaq Dar indicted in assets reference case; hearing adjourned until Oct 4

The finance minister denied the charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court

The finance minister said as he should be given time to file his response on the case, the IHC should order the accountability court to suspend its trial proceedings until a decision on his petition.

During the hearing of the accountability court earlier, Dar's counsel asked the judge to be granted seven days for perusing the reference against his client but the judge denied the request, observing that the court has to complete the trial in six months as per the apex court's directions.

"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 and also directed Dar to deposit a Rs5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the hearings.