LAHORE, March 18: The Lahore High Court on Thursday adjourned sine die the appeal of Rehmat Shah Afridi, editor-in-chief of The Frontier Post, against his death sentence.

The appeal was listed for hearing before a special division bench comprising Justices Syed Tasadaq Husain Jilani and Mohammad Saeed Akhtar, but was left over when the court time ended.

Mr Afridi was awarded death sentence on June 27, 2001, by an anti-narcotics court of Lahore which also slapped on him a fine of Rs2 billion on two counts of drugs possession. As much as 20kg of marijuana was recovered from his car and more of it from a truck linked to him in Faisalabad.

He was arrested from a Lahore hotel on April 2, 1999. His counsel Syed Ehsan Qadir Shah and special public prosecutor Khawaja Sultan Ahmad were waiting for their turn when the court adjourned the hearing with a date in office.

MARKET FEE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday adjourned until March 22 the hearing of a petition of 16 industries against the levy of market fee under the Punjab Agriculture Produce Market Ordinance, 1978.

A full bench, comprising Justices Javed Buttar, Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Syed Jamshed Ali, heard arguments of Advocate Shahid Karim against the levy by market committees. Advocate Ijaz Awan was to argue the case when the proceedings were adjourned. Advocate-General Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi was also present.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...