Granting stay order for a day against Accountability Court's verdict about confiscation of property of Ishaq Dar's guarantor on Tuesday, Islamabad High Court issued notices to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the matter for December 20 (today).
Guarantor Ahmed Ali Qudoosi has given a surety for Ishaq Dar in a NAB reference pending before the Accountability Court and tendered a bond of five million rupees. On December 14, the Accountability Court issued directives to investigation officer of the case to provide a list of moveable property of petitioner so that it could be attached and sold for the recovery of five million rupees.
Challenging the Accountability Court's order before the Islamabad High Court, Qudoosi submitted that Ishaq Dar was regularly appearing before the court without failure, adding the statements of five witnesses were also recorded. He apprised the court that Dar was to lead a delegation of government of Pakistan in Dushanbe and then proceed to Saudi Arabia for Umrah where he felt heaviness in chest and was constrained to travel to London in order to undergo certain medical tests for which he had received emergency treatment in Saudi Arabia.
Qudoosi further said that the Accountability Court judge refused to acknowledge the fact that Dar is under treatment in London and cannot come back unless the doctors clear him of the condition under review and directed the petitioner to submit the full amount of bond which is five million rupees as a fine and that too within a period of three days. The petitioner added that the Accountability Court also acknowledged that in case the fine is not deposited within three days, warrant for attachment and sale of moveable property of the petitioner shall be issued.
"Although the order to the extent of declaring Ishaq Dar as proclaimed offender was announced in the open court, yet the certified true copy of the said order was made available to the petitioner only in the later part of December 13 which seriously jeopardized the steps to be taken by the petitioner," Qudoosi claimed.
During the course of proceedings, the petitioner's counsel argued that it is on the record that the absence of Dar is not deliberate but under the advice of his doctors whose reports have been presumed to be correct and admitted by the court in its order of December 11.
After hearing the arguments in the matter, a division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb stayed proceedings of the Accountability Court in the matter for a day while issuing notice to the National Accountability Bureau for December 20 (today).
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