In a major development, an accountability court (AC) in Islamabad unfroze Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s bank accounts in the case of an asset beyond known sources of income.
The development comes after the Lahore administration returned the property Hajveri House, 7-H, Gulberg-III to the finance minister Ishaq Dar and a letter was also sent to the four banks to restore Ishaq Dar’s bank accounts worth Rs5.58 billion.
According to the details, the court withdrew the 2017 order, under which the minister’s assets had been frozen. Ishaq Dar had earlier surrendered and the trial is also not in the court’s jurisdiction anymore. So hereby the accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir ordered to unfreeze all the assets of finance minister Ishaq Dar.
Read more: No chance of default, FM Ishaq Dar assures investors
PTI leaders condemned the move of Ishaq Dar getting his financial assets back. They are taking to Twitter and slamming the incumbent government for the relief they are getting.
“Ishaq Dar could not restore the economy, but Ishaq Dar has definitely restored his assets confiscated in NAB due to corruption. His ECL cabinet including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has waived corruption cases by NRO2,” PTI leader Farrukh Habib said.
اسحاق ڈار سے معشعیت کی بحال نہ ہوسکی لیکن اسحاق ڈار نے کرپشن کیوجہ سے نیب میں ضبط اپنے اثاثہ ضرور بحال کروالئے ہے۔
نام لائق اعظم شہباز شریف سمیت انکی ECL کابینہ نے NRO2 سے کرپشن مقدمات معاف کروالئے ہے pic.twitter.com/pT5tGJ8i9g— Farrukh Habib (@FarrukhHabibISF) January 7, 2023
“The economy has been restored. But only for them,” PTI’s Hammad Azhar said.
معیشت بحال ہو گئی۔ لیکن صرف اِن کی اپنی۔ pic.twitter.com/S1AL9bTdXy
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) January 7, 2023
Ishaq Dar gets relief
In November 2022, an accountability court closed assets beyond known sources of income case against PML-N leader and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar due to the recent amendments in the National Accountability Bureau law.
Earlier, the National Assembly passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act, 2022 with a majority vote, amending the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 (NAO).
Read more: Maryam Nawaz made a deal for Ishaq Dar’s return?
Under the new amendments, the offense of corruption and corrupt practices as per the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, will be tied to the value of Rs500m. To clarify, NAB will have no jurisdiction to proceed in corruption cases involving less than Rs500 million.
The bill also strips the president of his authority to appoint judges of accountability courts in consultation with high court chief justices. As a result, courts across the country have returned cases.