Pakistan signs MoU with UK for extradition of Ishaq Dar

The Pakistan government on Monday has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK for extradition of former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The MoU was signed after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan's Adviser on Accountability Shahzad Akbar held meetings with British Home Secretary Sajid Javid. The adviser expressed hope for the smooth process of extradition of Ishaq Dar.

Earlier, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had approached the accountability court for the auction of movable and immovable properties of the ex-minister as he is absconding in assets beyond income reference.

The bureau had also seized all properties of Mr Dar that included a house in Lahore, three plots in AlFalah Housing Society, six acres of land in Islamabad, two-kanal plot in Parliamentarians Enclave, one plot in the Senate Cooperative Housing Society, another plot of two kanals and nine marlas in Islamabad and six vehicles.

On July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench had ordered NAB to file three references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and one against Dar, on petitions of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami's Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim League's

Rashid Ahmed.

In its reference against the former minister, NAB had alleged that "the accused had acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million". The reference alleged that the assets were "disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for".

In November last year, the accountability court had declared ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar absconder and rejected the minister's petition in which he sought immunity from hearing of assets beyond known sources of income reference.

Sheikh