Interpol gives Ishaq Dar clean chit, rejects Pakistan's request to issue red warrant

• The former finance minister has been absconding case proceedings since 2017.
• He is being investigated in a case owing to assets beyond his known source of income.

Interpol has rejected Pakistan's request to issue a red warrant or red notice to former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar.

The interior ministry had approached interpol requesting it to issue red warrant against Dar who has been absconding corruption cases since 2017. However, interpol has rejected the ministry's request and has given the PML-N leader a clean chit.

According to the statement issued by interpol, it reviewed evidence submitted by Dar and said that he is not subject to 'an Interpol Red Notice or diffusion'. The former finance minister had also claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has made him into a political target.

The interpol has also directed its National Central Bureaus (NCBs) to delete all data files in their systems on Dar, local media reported. It has also urged NCBs to update their national databases accordingly and ensure that the same is done by all naitonal entities that have access to interpol information.

After the Panama Papers revelation, the National Accountability Bureau filed a corruption reference against Dar for owing assets beyond his known source of income. The PML-N leader has been absconding the court proceedings since 2017 and is currently staying in London.

He has already been declared a proclaimed offender by an accountability court due to his failure to appear before the court. The Federal Investigation Agency had also issued red warrants against the PML-N leader.