LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued a bailable arrest warrant for former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a case seeking action against him for allegedly not honouring his oath of office by disclosing the minutes of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting to party leader Nawaz Sharif against a surety bond of Rs1 million.
The decision was made by a three-judge bench on a petition filed by civil society member Amina Malik through Advocate Azhar Siddique. The petition had sought action against Abbasi and Sharif for trying to defame state institutions. Moreover, the court ordered the superintendent of Rawalpindi prison to act on the court notice against Nawaz.
The petition alleged that Abbasi shared “crucial details of the NSC meeting with Nawaz following his statements on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and also claimed that by leaking details of the NSC”. Thus, Abbasi had committed high treason.
The petitioner had pleaded that Sharif had committed sedition by rejecting the NSC statement and was liable for action as per the Constitution and the Pakistan Penal Code, and also sought action against Abbasi for violation of oath through his disclosure of the minutes of the NSC meeting to Sharif.
Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who was heading the bench, asked why Abbasi had not appeared in court.
Subsequently, the bench ordered that bailable arrest warrants be issued to Abbasi and ordered him to pay Rs1 million in surety bonds.
Similarly, the court ordered a senior superintendent from Islamabad to act on the notice issued to a journalist for “publishing the controversial interview regarding the 26/11 Mumbai attacks”. It was said that the controversial interview had dented the country’s image and alleged that Abbasi supported Nawaz in the matter. Moreover, the petitioner, Advocate Azhar Siddiqui, further requested that the court ordered a treason trial against the three respondents.
In July, LHC decided to adjourn the hearing till after the general elections.
Moreover, notices were sent to both respondents to appear before the bench. However, Abbasi had entered the courtroom only to say that he had received no summons in this regard and was present on court grounds for his disqualification hearing.
