Reference against Dar adjourned till January 2

The Accountability Court hearing corruption reference against former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Thursday adjourned the hearing till January 2 after the prosecution informed it that Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a stay order against the trial of the accused.
Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir adjourned the hearing of reference filed against Dar by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for possessing assets beyond means, without any proceeding as Prosecutor NAB Imran Shafiq informed the court that the IHC on December 20 restrained the anti-graft court from proceedings against Dar. The IHC's stay order will remain in force till January 17 when it would take up the matter again, he added.
An IHC division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mian Gul Hassan granted the stay on Dar's petition, challenging issuance of arrest warrants and declaration as proclaimed offender by the Accountability Court. The prosecutor requested the court that the next date of hearing of reference against Dar should be fixed after the court's vacations.
On this the court asked about the copy of the IHC's order. The NAB prosecutor replied that an application has been submitted before the relevant authority and he will submit it before the anti-graft court after the court's vacations. Shafiq further told the court that it will be clear during the aforesaid period whether or not the accused will appear before the court.
The judge also asked who has appeared on Dar's behalf. On this, the NAB prosecutor told the court that no one has appeared on behalf of Dar. The court later adjourned the hearing of the case till January 2 and directed the NAB to submit a copy of the IHC order on January 2.
The Accountability Court on December 11 declared Dar as a proclaimed offender and initiated the process of confiscating his properties for not appearing before the court. Similarly, the NAB on December 15 decided to issue a red notice for Dar to bring him back to Pakistan through Interpol as he does not have any aliment that cannot be cured in Pakistan.