Pakistan anti-corruption court issues arrest warrant for Finance Minister Dar

Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is currently receiving medical treatment in London. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD (BLOOMBERG) - A Pakistani anti-corruption court issued an arrest warrant for Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday (Oct 30) after he failed to appear before a scheduled hearing.

Dar is in London receiving medical treatment and could not attend court, Mr Amjad Pervez, an attorney for the Finance Minister, said by phone.

"The order is basically to ensure his presence at the next hearing date," he said, which has been moved to Thursday. The warrant is bailable.

Dar and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were indicted this month on charges of corruption following Sharif's disqualification by Pakistan's Supreme Court in July.

A bailable arrest warrant was also issued against Sharif last week when he failed to turn up for a hearing looking into his family's purchase of high-end London flats.

A spokesman for the Finance Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment. Both Sharif and Dar have denied any wrongdoing.

Pakistan has been roiled by political turmoil ahead of elections next year. Sharif's ouster followed last year's leaks from a Panama law firm, which showed his children used offshore companies to purchase properties in the British capital.

Opposition leader and former cricket star Imran Khan then led a highly-charged anti-corruption campaign, which prompted the top court to mandate an investigation into the Sharif family businesses.

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