Accountability Court on Wednesday rejected Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's plea seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court and maintained bailable arrest warrants issued against him for not appearing before the court in connection with a reference filed against him for possessing assets beyond known sources of income.
As soon as the accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir began hearing, lawyer Ayesha Hamid, who is junior to Dar's lead counsel Khawaja Harris, submitted an application and her client's medical report seeking exemption of his client from personal appearance before the court as well as requested to try Dar through his pleader. Dar was scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday, she said.
Hamid pleaded before the court that his client is currently in London due to ill health and requested to exempt her client from personal appearance on medical grounds and continue the case by approving the appointment of his pleader. Dar nominated Zafir Khan Advocate as his pleader, the same lawyer who pleaded on behalf of Nawaz Sharif. Dar's counsel also submitted to the court her client's medical report verified by the Foreign Office.
NAB Prosecutor Imran Shafiq while opposing Dar's plea on medical ground said that this report provides no ground to exempt him from hearing. There is no concept of power of attorney in criminal proceedings and the accused must appear before the court and plead for appointing the pleader, he said.
He said the accused has requested that he is not satisfied with his angiography report and wants to conduct another angiography test from another doctor. He pleaded the court to direct Dar's counsel to present his first angiography report before the court. "Angiography could also be conducted in Pakistan and it only takes 30 minutes," he said.
He requested the court to issue non-bailable arrest warrants against the accused as he is continuously not appearing before the court. The judge also observed that Dar must appear before the court and submit an application for appointment of his pleader then the court will look into this matter. Medical checkup of Dar will be conducted in order to determine whether his is ill or dodging the court, he said.
After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the court reserved its judgment in the application. The court in its judgment declared that Dar must appear in the court himself and he could then file an application for appointment of his pleader. The court upheld the bailable arrest warrants previously issued against Dar and doubled the surety ordered against the warrants from Rs 1 million to Rs 2 million. The court adjourned the hearing of the case ?till November 14.?
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