ISLAMABAD – Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Thursday said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should relinquish the charge till the decision of NAB reference against him.
A meeting of the committee held under Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Saleem Mandviwalla here in Islamabad where the participants said that a minister whose house is raided on corruption charges should leave the office.
Saleem said that Pakistan will have been defamed internationally until Ishaq Dar tendered his resignation, adding that the committee should advise the minister to quit.
Senator Fateh Mohammad Hassani said that Dar should leave the job in a respectful manner as it was not suitable for him to keep hold the position despite corruption charges.
On Wednesday a team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) raided Dar’s house in Islamabad hours after an accountability court issued bailable arrest warrants against him.
The officials reportedly went to Dar’s house in Ministers Enclave, Islamabad and questioned employees while telling them that they had an arrest warrant for the federal minister.
The officials had the employees sign a receiving of the arrest orders and compliance summons, and then searched the house to make sure Dar was not present there.
Earlier in the day, an accountability court which was hearing a reference filed by NAB against him for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income, issued bailable arrest warrants against Dar.
During the proceedings, the anti-graft body asked the court to issue arrest warrants of the finance minister for continuously evading court proceedings against him.
Issuing directives for his arrest and produce him before the court till September 25, the accountability court also called for the submission of surety bond worth Rs1 million to seek bail.
As the hearing began in Judge Mohammad Bashir’s court, Dar’s protocol officer Fazal Dad appeared in court and informed the judge that the minister was presently in London.
It also emerged today that the anti-corruption watchdog has also appealed for freezing Dar’s bank accounts.
NAB had made a written request to banks for freezing Dar’s accounts in connection with Hajveri Trust and the companies owned by him, sources said.
