ISLAMABAD: An account­­ability court in Islamabad has issued an order to unfreeze movable and immovable properties of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after a corruption reference against the PML-N leader was returned to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in light of recent amendments to the accountability law.

NAB Judge Mohammad Bashir issued the said order on the application of the finance minister, requesting the court to unfreeze his properties attached by the provincial government of Punjab after he was declared a proclaimed offender in the assets beyond means case.

On Dec 11, 2017, the accountability court declared Mr Dar a proclaimed offender. However, it recalled the said order on Sept 28 when he surrendered to the court.

NAB judge says proceedings against PML-N leader ended due to lack of jurisdiction

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on July 28, 2017, while taking up petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, disqualified then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif for not disclosing his salary that he did not draw from his son’s company. The bench had also constituted a joint investigation team, headed by then additional director general of Federal Investigation Agency Wajid Zia, to probe the assets of the Sharif family and Mr Dar.

As per the prosecution, Mr Dar’s assets had grown manifold from Rs9.1 million in 1982-83 to Rs831.6m in 2008.

Judge Bashir observed that the criminal proceedings against Mr Dar have been quashed due to lack of jurisdiction due to amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance, 1997 retrospectively through National Accountability (Amendment) Act, 2022. “Therefore, the order of attachment dated Dec 11, 2017, is hereby withdrawn in these circumstances.”

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2023