*ISLAMABAD:* The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday grilled Senator and formerFinance Minister Ishaq Dar over his non appearance in the Court.
SC assured former finance minister Ishaq Dar of protective bail in a casechallenging his Senate seat and ordered him to appear before the court.
The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian SaqibNisar, resumed hearing of the petition moved by Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) candidate Nawazish Pirzada against Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdictallowing Dar to submit his nomination papers for the Senate election.
Dar’s counsel, Salman Aslam Butt, was present in court. “Salman Aslam,where is Ishaq Dar?” questioned the CJP. “Dar is ill and currently inanother country,” replied Butt, however, at this, the top judge remarked,“He can’t be ill enough to not show up when summoned.”
Butt also submitted a medical certificate on Dar’s behalf, which wasrejected by the court. The chief justice instructed Dar’s counsel to submitDar’s reply by 8pm on Tuesday.
The CJP then said that the notice issued to Dar earlier had directed him toappear before the top court under any circumstances. Butt responded sayingthat he would have to confirm with Dar whether he can appear in court. “Youmay inquire from him, our chambers are open till 8pm tonight,” the CJPremarked.
“Ishaq Dar is well enough to visit the Supreme Court,” the top judgeremarked again.