INTERPOL has finally rejected the request of the Government of Pakistan to issue red warrants for arrest of the former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The PML(N) leader has also been informed that he was not subject to any Interpol Notice and all National Central Bureaus (NCBs) have been asked to delete all data files on Dar.
The decision of the Interpol must have come as a major relief for the former Finance Minister, who had to flee the country under intense pressure. Dar has a point in complaining that neither his name was there in the Panama Papers nor in the Supreme Court judgement on the case. He has been maintaining all along that he is being victimized wrongly on the excuse of non-submission of income tax returns, charitable donations and assets beyond known sources. The Interpol evidently reached to the conclusion after evaluating the evidence furnished both by Pakistan Government and Mr. Dar and apparently was convinced by the one submitted by the latter, which also means that the case of the Government was weak. The fact that the evidence against him could not withstand a neutral scrutiny is yet another indication of flaws in our accountability system and process, which is being dubbed by the opposition as witch-hunting. Dar believes he is being victimized for not giving any evidence against his leader Mian Nawaz Sharif, otherwise he did nothing wrong. Ishaq Dar is one of those people who tried their level best to serve the country in one way or the other. Criticism by political opponents notwithstanding, the fact remains Ishaq Dar managed economy of the country well for several years and it was widely acknowledged even by international donors that economic indicators during that period were moving in the right direction. It is time that instead of pressurizing such personalities, we recognize their services and benefit from their expertise.
