LONDON: Former finance minister Ishaq Dar and a close aide of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has alleged that dozens of people have been killed virtually in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Talking to an international news channel exclusively, the now absconding former minister said that he was in London for medical treatment, adding that he was suffering from a cervical issue.
When asked whether he would return to Pakistan, Dar said, “Where are the human rights in Pakistan, what’s happening in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody where dozens of people have been virtually killed. There are human rights abuses.”
Commenting on the corruption allegations, he said that such allegations have been used repeatedly in the country’s history. “I can prove that the allegations levelled against me are baseless and my name was not in the Panama Papers. I can provide proof against the accusations,” Dar claimed.
When the anchor confronted Dar by saying that Pakistan’s accountability watchdog had scrutinised his accounts and found them not in order, Dar said that was not the case.
“A joint investigation team was set-up and it had two military officers among others, they were actually overseeing the entire affair,” he said, adding, “The NAB lost its significance some time ago. Its an institution that is used for political revenge.”
Nawaz’s struggle
The former minister also lashed out at incumbent government, saying that the Imran Khan-led government is a judicial martial law. “Nawaz Sharif is struggling for democracy and supremacy of the parliament in Pakistan,” he added.
He said he does not accuse the army, as an institution, of undermining the democratic process in Pakistan, but “it is the will and plan of some people, the same people who enforce martial law in Pakistan”.
When asked if the army or the army chief were undermining democracy, Ishaq commented that the PML-N is not alone and international reports also have said the same. “I am not talking about the entire institution, we need to differentiate. These are the wishes and plans of certain people, the same people who enforce martial law in Pakistan,” he added.
“We are saying that if the elections were rigged, and this has now been proven, without doubt, someone is planning the entire thing. The interior minister of Pakistan said that if Nawaz Sharif did not have issues with the institutions and the deep state, he would have become prime minister for the fourth time,” he asserted.
Property
When asked how many properties he owns, Dar claimed that he owns only one property in Pakistan and that too, has been seized by the government. “I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this regime,” he added.
The ex-finance minister said he believes in transparency and has declared all his assets in his statements. When the anchor stated that news reports state that he and his family members own properties in Dubai and London, Dar replied in negative.
He claimed that the accusations were not true and his children were independent businessmen, hence their properties or assets have nothing to do with him.
Dar was declared an absconder in late 2017. He has been absconding court proceedings since 2017 following the registration of reference against him. Later, NAB confiscated his various bank accounts worth Rs500 million and his house.
