ISLAMABAD: A team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has raided Finance Minister Ishaq’s residence in Islamabad but failed to arrest him as he was not at home.
Geo News correspondent Azaz Syed was at the location when the two-member NAB team carried out the raid to arrest the finance minister.
NAB officials questioned servants present at the residence and told them they had warrants for the minister. They also made sure that Dar was not present at home.
Before leaving, the officials got a receiving of arrest orders and summons from the servants.
NAB denies raid
Meanwhile, a spokesman for NAB denied reports of a raid on Dar’s residence.
“The team only went to Ishaq Dar’s residence to deliver court notice,” the spokesman said, adding that it acted in accordance with the law.
“We request media to not run unverified reports,” he added.
Arrest warrants
Earlier in the day, an accountability court hearing a corruption reference issued bailable warrants of arrest for Dar after he failed to appear in court.
Dar had been summoned to appear in court today in connection with a reference by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for possessing assets beyond declared sources of income.
The reference had been ordered by the Supreme Court in its July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
As the hearing began in Judge Mohammad Bashir’s court, Dar’s protocol officer Fazal Dad appeared in court and informed the judge that the minister is presently in London.
The NAB prosecutor pleaded the court to issue arrest warrants to ensure Dar’s presence in court. Following this, the court went into a recess to decide on the bureau’s plea and returned with the directions of ordering bailable warrants of arrest for the finance minister.
The court ordered for submission of the bail bond of Rs1 million and adjourned the hearing until September 25, ordering Dar to be present in court at the next hearing. Dar was also directed to nominate someone who would serve as a bail bondsperson.
Sources within NAB informed that summons for Dar was sent to his residence in Islamabad and his personal address in Lahore.
NAB officials also informed the court that the minister’s summons was received by his driver, whereas his staff officer informed authorities that the minister’s seat on the flight back was confirmed but he could not make due to some commitments.
Dar’s accounts to be frozen
Moreover, NAB Lahore on Wednesday directed State Bank of Pakistan and all banks of the country to freeze Dar’s accounts, Geo News reported earlier on Wednesday.
In its letter, the anti-graft watchdog also instructed the banks to inform it immediately after taking the said action.
