Finance Minister Ishaq Dar arriving in court Oct 12, 2017. Photo: Geo News

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reached the accountability court on Thursday which resumed hearing of the Supreme Court-directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference against him.

The accountability court had summoned two witnesses of the prosecution ? Shahid Aziz and Tariq Javed ? to record their statements pertaining to the case today.

Almost 200 policemen have been stationed in and around the judicial complex to provide security for today's hearing, while all routes except one entry point have been sealed off to prevent the unauthorised entry of any uninvited persons.

Alongside Dar, Federal Privatisation Minister Daniyal Aziz and State IT Minister Anusha Rehman have also reached the court to attend the hearing.

Witness records statements in assets reference case against Ishaq Dar

Accountability Court-I is hearing case of possessing assets beyond known sources of income against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar

The NAB has submitted a list of 28 witnesses with the court.

At the last hearing on October 4, NAB produced two witnesses: Ishtiaq Ali of Bank Alfalah and senior vice-president of Al Baraka bank, Tariq Javed.

Only Ali recorded his statement with the court and was then cross-examined by Dar's counsel, Advocate Amjad Pervez. Dar's counsel objected to the documents presented by NAB, saying they are mere photocopies and not verified documents.

Dar was indicted on September 27 in the assets reference case, however, he denied all charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court.

Ishaq Dar indicted in assets reference case; hearing adjourned until Oct 4

The finance minister denied the charges and vowed to prove his innocence in court

Dar challenged his indictment and trial in the Islamabad High Court but the pleas were dismissed with directions to take them to Justice Ijazul Ahsan, the Supreme Court judge monitoring the corruption references. 

The reference

The corruption reference, pertaining to Dar's owning assets that are disproportionate to his known sources of income, was filed by the National Accountability Bureau in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

After skipping his first hearing, for which a summons had been issued, Dar appeared in court later after bailable warrants for his arrest had been issued to ensure his presence.

The judge then directed Dar to deposit a Rs5 million surety bond to ensure his appearance at the hearings.