LAHORE, Oct 11: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday reserved verdict on an appeal filed by PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto for declaring “illegal and unlawful” her conviction in absentia in the SGS Cotecna and ARY Gold references.

Justice M. Bilal Khan and Justice Tariq Shamim heard the appeal directed against Section 31-A of the NAB Ordinance, which allowed a person to be punished for not appearing before a court (sentence in absentia).

An accountability court, hearing the references, had sentenced Ms Bhutto for three-year jail in July 2002 — a verdict that rendered the former premier, in accordance with the law of the land, ineligible for contesting general elections.

—Correspondent