LAHORE, Jan 10: An anti-terrorism court on Friday again ordered that Dr Ahmad Javed Khwaja and Ahmad Naveed Khwaja be produced in the court and the chargesheet be submitted.

The order is now supposed to be executed on Jan 16.

This is for the third consecutive time since Dec 27 that the court has reiterated its order for production of the accused and submission of the chargesheet.

The superintendent and assistant superintendent of the Lahore Central Jail and the official in charge of Chuhang Investigation Cell tendered an unconditional apology in the court for not allowing the family members and defence counsel to meet the accused despite the court orders.

The three officials, who had been asked to appear in person in the court on a contempt of court application, claimed that they had not received the court orders. The superintendent and his assistant also pleaded that the accused had been shifted to another jail and they could not have allowed the meeting anyway.

The court took serious notice of the statement, saying that the receipt of the court orders was on record. It further observed that the superintendent should have informed the court that the accused had been shifted to the Chuhang Investigation Cell so that it could issue amended orders.

However, the court accepted their apology warning them to be careful in future.

Earlier, the prosecution showed its inability to produce the accused despite the court orders, saying that the reply of the provincial home ministry was awaited.

Prosecutor Rana Bukhtiar argued that the accused could not be produced in the court without the permission of the home ministry. He said he had not been able to submit the chargesheet because the forensic report was awaited on shells of bullets that had allegedly come from a 30-bore pistol and a Klashnikov, which belonged to the accused.

The prosecution sought an adjournment for filing the chargesheet. The court allowed the application.

An interim chargesheet was filed on the last hearing.

Defence counsel Pervez Inayat Malik argued that prosecution’s lack of compliance with the court orders amounted to contempt. He said the state was unreasonably delaying the submission of chargesheet.

The Khwajas are accused of opening fire on a police party and carrying out anti-state activities.