Corruption trial against Ishaq Dar temporarily halted by IHC

Corruption trial against Ishaq Dar temporarily halted by IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ordered an accountability court in Islamabad to temporarily halt proceedings against former finance minister Ishaq Dar till January 17.

The court also restrained the accountability court from confiscating the properties of Ali Ahmed Qadoosi, the guarantor of former finance minister, until the next hearing.

On December 18, Dar, who is currently under trial for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income, had challenged in the high court an accountability court order issued on Dec 14 which declared him a proclaimed offender.

On Wednesday, a two-member IHC bench heard Dar's application challenging the accountability court's order.

Dar's lawyer Qazi Misbah informed the court that he wanted a representative to appear in place of Dar, who is ill and cannot travel to Pakistan.

Justice Athar Minallah remarked that an exemption from appearance could be granted under Article 540-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) but asked how a trial could continue in the absence of the only accused.

"When will Dar be able to appear before the court?" he asked. "When did he last appear in the court?"

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) special prosecutor informed the court that the accused had last appeared before it on October 23. Qazi Misbah said he could inform the court of Dar's availability after the results of a medical examination scheduled for today were released.

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb said that no court would exempt an accused from appearing in court on the basis of the medical reports submitted by Dar's counsel.

Justice Minallah remarked that Misbah would have to explain his case better in order for a decision in his favour.

Dar is currently undergoing medical treatment in London, where he has remained for some time now.

An accountability court judge had earlier observedthat according to medical reports submitted in court, the under-trial former minister did not seem to be suffering from a serious heart condition or that he is unfit to travel to Pakistan to appear before the courts.

Justice Aurangzeb inquired whether it was because of the Supreme Court's order that NAB was in such a hurry to declare Dar as a proclaimed offender.

"The accused is also a Pakistani citizen. Why was he declared a proclaimed offender within 10 days?"

Justice Minallah told the NAB prosecutor that the accountability court had two options.

The first option was that it could nullify its declaration that Dar is a proclaimed offender and order the courts to complete their proceedings against the former finance minister within 30 days, and the second option was that accountability court proceedings against Dar be halted until the next hearing.

Subsequently, the special prosecutor chose the second option.

Justice Minallah also asked the NAB lawyer if he had verified Dar's medical report in line with the high court's orders.

The lawyer said that the reports had been sent for verification through the Foreign Office and had not been returned yet.

"We are not medical experts," Justice Minallah told the NAB lawyer. "You should have formed a medical board to look at the reports."

"The medical board would have looked over the reports and provided a diagnosis," he added.

The court sought arguments on whether to exempt Dar from appearance before adjourning the hearing until Jan 17.

The court also restrained the accountability court from confiscating the properties of Ali Ahmed Qadoosi, the guarantor of the former finance minister, until the next hearing.