ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has opposed accepting the claim of Tabassum Ishaq Dar, wife of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, to the ownership of a property in Lahore and said her husband is the original owner of the confiscated property.

In response to an application filed by Ms Tabassum for de-freezing of the property in Gulberg, Lahore, NAB stated before the accountability court on Friday that Mr Dar’s wife had claimed the ownership of the property without having any solid proof.

Ms Tabassum filed an application in the accountability court in October last year against the confiscation of the property of her husband after he was declared an absconder in a reference filed by NAB for allegedly accumulating assets beyond means.

Tells accountability court house is registered in name of Ishaq Dar in revenue record

On Oct 2, accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir had attached Mr Dar’s properties with the Punjab government and allowed its auction as per rules.

Ms Tabassum, however, challenged the confiscation of the house in Gulberg, saying her husband had verbally gifted the property to her on Feb 14, 1989, in lieu of her dower amount. She said that since she had accepted the gift and was residing there, NAB had erroneously shown the property as an asset of Mr Dar.

She requested the court to cancel the order for the auction of the property.

According to NAB’s reply, the said house is registered in the name of Mr Dar in the revenue record and was not yet transferred to the name of his spouse.

On Oct 10, the special prosecutor had informed the accountability judge that a sum of Rs508.31 million had been attached and placed on the disposal of the Punjab government.

Following the filing of the reference against Mr Dar in the accountability court in September last year, NAB had seized all of Mr Dar’s moveable and immoveable assets, including a house in Gulberg III, Lahore; three plots in Al Falah Housing Society, Lahore; six acres of land in Islamabad; a two-kanal plot in Parliamentarians Enclave, Islam­abad; a plot in the Senate Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad; a plot measuring two kanals and another of nine marlas in Islamabad and six vehicles.

The bureau said that Mr Dar had acquired in his name and/or in the names of his dependants’ assets worth Rs831.7m, which was disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2019