LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court has adjourned to Nov 19 the hearing of a petition seeking start of treason proceedings against two former prime ministers — Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi — and Cyril Almeida, a Dawn staffer.

Mr Abbasi and Mr Alme­ida appeared before the bench, along with their counsel, on Monday. How­ever, Advocate Naseer Bhutta filed an application on behalf of Mr Sharif seeking permanent exemption for his client from personal appearance before the bench.

Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who heads the bench, pointed out that the applicant had not submitted a mandatory affidavit with his application for exemption. Naseer Bhutta said the application would be filed afresh along with the affidavit.

Advocate Ahmad Rauf, counsel for Mr Almeida, asked the bench to allow his client to go abroad. The bench directed the counsel to file an application for this purpose.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2018