Court indicts Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, but he pleads not guilty

Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was indicted by an anti-corruption court on Wednesday, but the close aide of ousted PM Nawaz Sharif pleaded not guilty to possessing assets beyond his means.

Supporters of Nawaz Sharif hold placards as they shout slogans outside an accountability court where he appeared to face corruption charges. Pic/AFP

Dar's indictment comes a day after an accountability court decided to indict Sharif on October 2 after the former PM for the first time appeared before it to face graft charges against him in the Panama Papers scandal.

The 67-year old minister pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, terming them baseless. Dar was swept up in the corruption case stemming from documents leaked from a Panama law firm, which appeared to show that senior officials, including Sharif, had undisclosed assets.

Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau on September 8 filed a case against Dar, for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income following the July 28 SC verdict.