ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday requested the Ministry of Interior to put the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the Exit Control List (ECL).
The decision in this regard was made during a meeting chaired by NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, read a statement issued by the NAB’s spokesperson.
An accountability court on Tuesday had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Dar over his continuous absence from proceedings in the assets reference against him.
The noose seems to be tightening around the incumbent finance minister after the NAB decided to reopen the Rs 1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference against him the other day.
This will be the second ‘mega-corruption’ case against Dar being investigated by the NAB, following the reference filed against him in the wake of the Panama Papers case judgement.
“To meet [the] legal requirement in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision, the NAB is reopening the investigation into the Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference,” said an official press release issued by the NAB. On Tuesday, Dar’s lawyer Qausain Faisal Mufti told the court that during his client’s angiography it was discovered that one of the blood vessels leading to his heart had ruptured, and offered the court to try him via video link.
Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir, however, dismissed Dar’s application seeking exemption from personal appearance and directed his guarantors to ensure the minister’s presence at the next hearing on November 21, or else face confiscation of his bail bonds.
Published in Daily Times, November 17th 2017.
