The Lahore High Court on Monday summoned former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to appear on October 8 during the hearing of a petition seeking action against him for claiming that those involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack belonged to Pakistan.
Mr. Sharif had in May publicly acknowledged in an interview to Dawn that terrorist organisations were active in Pakistan, and had questioned the policy of allowing the “non-state actors” to cross the border and “kill” people in Mumbai.
In the interview, he had also criticised the delay in the conclusion of the Mumbai attack trial.
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The Lahore High Court’s three-member Bench headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi also issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida, and ordered that his name be placed on the the Exit Control List.
“Justice Naqvi expressed anger over non-appearance of Almeida in the court, directing the Deputy Inspector General of the Police Punjab to present him in the court on next hearing (October 8),” a court official told reporters.
The judge, before summoning Mr. Sharif on October 8, also inquired with Mr. Sharif’s counsel, Advocate Naseer Bhutta, as to why his client did not appear before the court on Monday.
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Advocate Mr. Bhutta said Mr. Sharif would appear at the next hearing as he was mourning the death of his wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz. She died of throat cancer on September 11 in London.
Former PrimeMinister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, however, appeared before the court.
Petitioner Amina Malik said Mr. Sharif committed treason when he, in the interview to Dawn, said that those involved in the Mumbai attack actually belonged to Pakistan.
The petitioner said the “anti-state” statement of Mr. Sharif — a three-time Prime Minister — could be used against Pakistan by its enemies.
She said a meeting of the National Security Council was held to discuss the ‘misleading’ statement of the disqualified Premier and later, the then Prime Minister Mr. Abbasi met Mr. Sharif and conveyed to him the concerns of the military leadership over his statement.
“The act of Abbasi was also a clear violation of his oath as he was bound not to allow his personal interest to influence his official conduct,” the petitioner said.
The court adjourned the hearing till October 8.
Mr. Sharif, 68, resigned as Pakistan Prime Minister last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.
Subsequently he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Avenfield corruption case. The Avenfield case was among the three corruption cases filed against the ex-Premier by the National Accountability Bureau on the Supreme Court’s orders in the Panama Papers case.
Mr. Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar were released last week following the suspension of their sentences by the Islamabad High Court in the Avenfield properties corruption case.
Some 166 people were killed in the Mumbai attack carried out by 10 LeT terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and hanged after being handed down death sentence.