LAHORE, June 17: An anti-terrorism court issued on Tuesday non-bailable warrants for the arrest of PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and three others for the second time in a case of killing five youths in a staged encounter in Sabzazar area four years ago.

The process server informed the court that Shahbaz Sharif, SHO Babar Ashraf Ansari, ASI Shamshad Ahmad and Tariq Asghar could not be traced on the addresses mentioned on the warrants issued last time.

The court, while issuing the warrants afresh, directed the Sabzazar police SHO to produce the four accused on the next date of hearing after arresting them.

Former DSP Umar Virk, SI Lala Roshan, ASIs Zulfiqar Ahmad and Manzoor are among the other accused in this case who have appeared in the court and furnished Rs100,000 bail bonds.

Advocate Hussain Aziz argued on behalf of Shahbaz Sharif that the court could not issue warrants for the arrest of his client since he had been exiled to Saudi Arabia.

He argued that a person in exile who could not appear before a local court for technical reasons.

Complainant’s counsel Aftab Ahmad Bajwa argued that Shahbaz Sharif had gone into exile under a deal with the government. No compromise between the complainant and Shahbaz Sharif had reached and the accused could not claim relief on this ground.

The counsel alleged that earlier the police prolonged the proceedings by delaying the filing of the chargesheet and now the defence counsel was placing a proposition before the court which was void and unacceptable.

The court observed that there was nothing available on the judicial record to suggest that Shahbaz had been exiled under an arrangement with the government. This presumed exile did not bar the court from proceedings against him.

No instructions had been passed by the government to the prosecution for withdrawing the case to the extent of Shahbaz Sharif following his departure abroad during December 2000.

Five police officials had shot dead Salahuddin, Waseem and three others in a staged encounter in Sabzazar area during 1998.

Lodged in March 1999 on the orders of the Lahore High Court, the FIR stated that the encounter was staged on the orders of then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif who, according to the complainant, used extra-judicial killings to control crime.

The police did not submit the chargesheet in the court for over one year on the pretext that the original record of the case could not be produced owing to certain administrative problems. The chargesheet was put up before the court last month.