A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore team paid a visit to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's Islamabad residence after an accountability court on Wednesday issued bailable warrants for his arrest for failing to comply with a summons issued earlier by the same court.
A NAB spokesman told DawnNews that the visit by the team was a formality following the issuance of the warrants, as Dar is currently in London.
A NAB reference filed to the accountability court on the directives of the apex court is related to Dar's possession of assets beyond his known sources of income.
In today's hearing, Dar's protocol officer Fazal Dad appeared on behalf of the minister and told the court that Dar was unable to appear as he was out of the country due to personal engagements. The protocol officer, said he was unaware of the date of Dar's return.
NAB Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar then appealed the court to issue arrest warrants for the accused.
Subsequently, accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir issued a bailable arrest warrant for Dar, directing authorities to arrest and produce the minister on September 25. The minister will have to submit a surety bond worth Rs1 million to secure his bail.
The court also warned that non-bailable arrest warrants would be issued on Sep 25, if Dar failed to appear before the court.
The Supreme Court (SC), in its Panama Papers case verdict, had ordered the NAB to investigate those named in a report filed by the Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) who was probing the Panamagate.
The JIT had pointed out an exorbitant increase in Dar's assets from 2008 to 2009. NAB authorities summoned Dar but he failed to appear, arguing that NAB could not summon him following his petition against the Panama case verdict, since the decision under which the bureau was investigating was under review.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reportedly submitted Dar's tax return data from the last 20 years to NAB. The SECP has also handed over the records of seven companies owned by Dar and his family members to the anti-corruption watchdog.
