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Accountability court cancels Ishaq Dar’s arrest warrant

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  • Warrant was cancelled against surety bonds of Rs1 million.
  • Dar submits application against confiscation of property.
  • Seeks permanent exemption from appearance.

An Islamabad accountability court on Friday cancelled Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s arrest warrant in the assets beyond means case filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The cancellation orders were issued after the minister appeared before Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir with his lawyer Qazi Misbah. The court also directed the minister to submit surety bonds of Rs1 million.

At the outset of the hearing, Misbah asked the court to permanently cancel his client’s arrest warrant and the order to confiscate his assets.

The lawyer told the court that it had issued the arrest warrants so Dar appears before the court, adding that they should be cancelled now as the minister is present before the court.

“Did NAB also issue arrest warrants of Ishaq Dar,” Judge Bashir asked the anti-corruption watchdog’s prosecutor.

Anti-graft’s body responded in the affirmative but clarified that the warrants were suspended.

“What is your point of view now, should the warrants be cancelled or not?” asked the judge.

At this question, the NAB prosecutor supported the cancellation of warrants, adding that they were issued to ensure Dar’s appearance in the case.

The judge then remarked that it will have to indict Dar once again as a supplementary reference has also been filed against him.

To this, Dar’s lawyer stated that they will give arguments on the supplementary reference.

Before adjourning the case till October 12, the court issued notices to NAB over the application filed against the confiscation of Dar’s property and permanent exemption from appearance.

The court has ordered NAB to present its arguments at the next hearing on both applications.

Arrest warrant suspended

Last week, the court had suspended the arrest warrants of Dar till October 7.

Judge Mohammad Bashir had issued the orders and directed the authorities to not arrest the minister upon his arrival in Pakistan.

The judge had said that once Dar returns to Pakistan, the court will see whether it should revoke his arrest orders or not.

“The arrest warrants will be permanently suspended once Dar appears before the court in person,” the judge had said.

Dar moved the accountability court after the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in a corruption case following his decision to withdraw the plea.

In 2017, an accountability court, while hearing a corruption reference against Dar, declared him a proclaimed offender due to his continued absence from the proceedings.

The national anti-graft watchdog accused Dar of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The case was filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

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The IHC upholds Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail.

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Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail was granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.

The former first lady Bushra Bibi’s application to be transferred from Bani Gala sub-jail to Adiala was heard today.

Details reveal that the Islamabad High Court heard a motion to restore the denied petition about the relocation of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder, from sub-jail Bani Gala to Adiala.

The application for the reinstatement of appeal was heard by Justice Miagul Hassan Aurangzeb. When state attorney Abdul Rehman entered the courtroom on behalf of the state, Usman Riaz Gill represented the former first lady.

State counsel did not object to the appeal being restored during court proceedings. At the following hearing, the court asked for assistance in determining what conditions must be met for a location to be designated as a sub-jail.

The court also mandated that Bushra Bibi’s medical examination be scheduled. The court subsequently delayed the hearing and gave instructions to fix the appeal for April 22.

Recall that the attorneys for former first lady Bushra Bibi, Barrister Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz Gill, and Khalid Yusuf Chaudhary, had filed an application to restore the dismissed appeal a day ago, but the Islamabad High Court had denied their request to pursue the case.

The petition contended that the traffic gridlock at the Sarina Chowk checkpoint was the reason for the delay in getting to the court.

The attorneys did not purposefully take their time getting to court. They warned that the petitioner would suffer irreversible loss if the petition was not resurrected.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has voiced his displeasure at the absence of attorneys from the court.

According to Judge Aurangzeb, the former first lady would have been imprisoned if Bushra Bibi’s attorneys had prevailed in this case. The attorneys themselves were opposed to Bushra Bibi’s incarceration.

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oath-taking ceremony for the Balochistan cabinet postponed

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The Balochistan cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony, which was supposed to take place at the Governor’s House today (Thursday), has been rescheduled.
The Governor’s House spokeswoman announced that the Balochistan cabinet’s swearing-in event has been postponed. Nevertheless, there was no explanation provided for the ceremony’s postponement.

It is important to note that the 14-member Balochistan cabinet, which consists of two members from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and six ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was set to take the oath of office today, Thursday.

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PMD forecasts rain throughout the majority of the nation.

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During the next 24 hours (Thursday–Friday), the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted rain, windstorms, thunderstorms, and a few torrential downpours or hailstorms throughout the majority of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Islamabad, Punjab, and Balochistan.

In several areas of Sindh, a rain-windstorm/thunderstorm is anticipated. Much of Balochistan is being hit by a powerful westerly wave trough, which is expected to spread to the top regions by April 18.

Prolonged downpours have the potential to cause flash flooding in Balochistani local streams and drains, particularly in Gwadar, Jiwani, Pasni, Ormara, Kech, Awaran, Kharan, Panjgur, Washuk, Noshki, Lasbela, Khuzdar, and Kalat.

On April 18–20, heavy rains could cause flash floods in tributaries of the Kabul River as well as in Dir, Swat, Chitral, Kohistan, Manshera, Gilgit–Baltistan, Kashmir, and other areas.

Lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree, Galiyat, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan are among the regions where landslides may occur.

At this time, standing crops, power poles, cars, solar panels, and other objects may sustain damage from wind, hail, and lightning, according to meteorologists.

Upper Sindh and Balochistan saw rain, wind, and thunderstorms in the past 24 hours. During the era, there were also significant rainfalls in South Balochistan. Wednesday’s highs of 42 degrees Celsius in Mithi kept it as the country’s hottest spot.

Officials reported that lightning-related storm-related occurrences claimed the lives of at least 65 people in Pakistan, where the rate of precipitation in April has so far been roughly twice that of previous years. Floods and house collapses were caused by heavy downpours that occurred between Friday and Monday. Lightning claimed 28 lives.

32 people, including 15 children, have killed and over 1,300 homes have been damaged in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has suffered the greatest victim count.

The meteorological experts report that there is little probability of rain, despite the fact that drizzle fell in numerous areas of Karachi.

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