ISLAMABAD - The accountability court would frame charge sheet against three more accused in the assets accumulation case against former finance minister, Senator Ishaq Dar, on March 12.

Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir ordered while hearing the proceedings of the supplementary reference against the Senator, who had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case earlier.

During course of proceedings the court had accepted NAB’s supplementary reference filed earlier, which includes 24 additional witnesses and three new accused namely, President of National Bank of Pakistan, Saeed Ahmed and Directors of two companies owned by Ishaq Dar, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi.

Meanwhile, the bench while providing the copies of the charges to the counsels for the accused remarked that charge-sheet would be framed today after a break.

To which counsel for the NBP president Hashmat Habid pleaded for more time to prepare the case adding there were several obstacles in framing charges and requested to grant some time to read the charges before framing charge-sheet.

Subsequently the bench while accepting the plea gave him time till March 12.

On February 26 National Accountability Bureau filed supplementary reference containing seven volumes against

Mr Dar adding three new suspects namely, National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed and the directors of two companies owned by Dar, Mansoor Raza Rizvi and Naeem Mehmood having assets beyond known source of income in light of new evidence and accounts discovered during NAB’s investigation of the case.

The interim reference was filed against Mr Dar by NAB in September last year in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28, 2017 verdict in the Panama Papers case.