Pakistan Supreme Court summons Ishaq Dar

Pakistan's former finance minister Ishaq Dar. (AP)

• Former finance minister, in London for medical treatment, faces corruption allegations.
• Dar was declared a “proclaimed absconder” in November 2017 by Islamabad’s accountability court.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has summoned Ishaq Dar, adding to the embattled former finance minister’s legal challenges.
Dar, who has been in London since October 2017 for medical treatment, was re-elected as a senator on March 3 in absentia. He could not take the oath as a member of the Upper House since he is in the UK.
Nawazish Pirzada, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has challenged Dar’s candidature at the Supreme Court, saying he is a declared absconder and so ineligible to contest the Senate election.
Dar’s lawyer Salam Akram Raja said his client is in London because of health issues, but the court summoned Dar nonetheless.
Earlier, Dar told the accountability court via a letter that his doctors had advised him to avoid international travel.
Islamabad’s accountability court in November 2017 issued non-bailable arrest warrants for him because of his repeated failure to appear before the court. On Nov. 21, it declared him a “proclaimed absconder.” Dar is accused of having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.