Accountability court reserves verdict on NAB plea to auction Dar's assets

An accountability court on Monday reserved its verdict on the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) plea to auction absconding suspect Ishaq Dar's assets in Pakistan.

After hearing the anti-graft body's arguments today, the court reserved its verdict on the plea.

The petition was filed by the NAB after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader went to London for medical treatment and continues to abscond in corruption cases against him in the accountability court.

Last week, NAB had submitted to the accountability court details of the former finance minister’s assets that have been seized.

During the last hearing, NAB special prosecutor Imran Shafiq said if reservations are not raised within the given time then the assets can be sold. "The accused can approach the court till six months after the assets are sold," he added.

The NAB prosecutor further said that so far Dar has expressed no reservations and even if he appears before the court after the assets are sold then he can be granted his rights.

Shafiq also requested the court to issue an order regarding Dar properties in Islamabad and Lahore which are beyond the court's ambit.

The case

The former finance minister is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.

A reference against the former finance minister was filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Dar had earlier been declared a proclaimed offender by the accountability court due to his continuous absence from the proceedings.

In November 2017, then-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had accepted Dar’s request to be relieved of his duties as the finance minister.