ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Tuesday released its reserved judgement on a petition filed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, halting the proceedings and decided to return the reference to NAB.
Also read: Verdict on Ishaq Dar’s acquittal plea in assets case reserved
The finance minister had submitted three pleas, including one pertaining to exemption from appearance, last week. The court, after a brief hearing, had accepted his plea for exemption from personal appearance.
Local court reporter in Islamabad explained that the verdict by Accountability court did not mean that the case against Ishaq Dar had been quashed, but instead, it would be deemed as pending.
اسحاق ڈار آمدن سے زیادہ اثاثے بنانے کے نیب ریفرنس میں بری نہ ہو سکے ، احتساب عدالت نے ترمیمی ایکٹ کے تحت ٹرائل کی کارروائی روک دی، کیس زیر التوا تصور کیا جائے گا ، متبادل فورم پر بھی چل سکے گا اور کل ترامیم ختم ہوئیں تو کیس دوبارہ زندہ ہو گا
— Sohail Rashid (@SohailRashid8) November 22, 2022
Just yesterday, Judge Mohammad Bashir resumed hearing on the petitions and reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from Mr Dar’s lawyer Qazi Misbah and NAB prosecutor Afzal Qureshi.
Also read: Tax leaks of Army Chief and family: Ishaq Dar orders probe
Releasing the verdict, the court declared that after amendments introduced to NAB laws, the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case, and hence returned the reference back to NAB.
