LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday sought reply from the attorney general, the advocate general Punjab and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a petition for bringing back foreign assets of politicians, lawyers and others.

Justice Aminuddin Khan adjourned further hearing till Sept 29 and also directed three of the respondents to provide copies of their replies to the petitioner.

Know more: 64 politicians issued notices over foreign assets

Previously, the petition had been heard by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan.

The court had already decided to proceed ex parte against the respondents for not submitting their replies. A newspaper proclamation was also published for intimation to 63 respondents about the court proceedings.

The politicians who neither appeared before the court nor made their representation through counsel include Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz, former president Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, his wife Bushra Aitzaz and Chaudhry Qamaruz Zaman had filed their replies. Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree filed this petition saying the respondent politicians transferred at least $300,000 million dollars to foreign countries through money laundering and caused a huge loss to the national exchequer. He asked the court to issue directions to these politicians to bring their assets back to Pakistan.

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his wife, former president Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Faryal Talpur, former president Pervez Musharraf, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, former interior minister Rehman Malik, PML-Q chief Shujaat Hussain, Pervez Elahi, Faisal Saleh Hayat, Javed Hashmi, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Farooq Sattar, Jahangir Tareen, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Sheikh Rashid and Malik Riaz Hussain are among those who have been made party in the case.

YOUTUBE BAN: A single bench of the Lahore High Court on Friday referred to a division bench a petition seeking lifting of a ban on Youtube, a video sharing website.

A local lawyer filed the petition pleading that the ban put by the government on the website was illegal.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka, the petitioner, argued that citizens of the country and students in particular were facing numerous problems due to blockade of Youtube. He said the website was a great source for research work.

A law officer told the court that a similar petition was already pending before a division bench. He asked the court to refer the petition to the same bench in order avoid a complex order on same matter. Justice Mamoon Rasheed Sheikh expressed concern over the ban on Youtube for an indefinite period. However, the judge referred the petition to the division bench.

REPLY SOUGHT: The Lahore High Court on Friday sought a reply from the Pakistan Railways (PR) on a petition complaining undue delay in the provision of financial compensation to the family of a citizen who died on his way to India by Samjhota train.

Petitioner Farzana Rubi stated her father had suffered a fatal cardiac arrest during his train journey to India in 2006. She said the railways was asked to pay accidental life loss claim but several applications submitted to this effect remained unanswered.

A divisional superintendent of the railways told the court that Rs200,000 had been paid to the petitioner while the remaining amount of the claim would be paid soon. At this petitioner demanded mark-up of eight years on the claim amount.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah directed the superintendent to come up on the next hearing with a reply about full payment of the claim along with the mark-up.

The court will resume hearing on Sept 26.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2014