The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking that former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif face trial under treason charges for his remarks on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Dawn reported.
In an interview, Sharif had criticised his country for letting militant groups cross the border and commit attacks like the one in Mumbai in November 2008. The National Security Committee, Pakistan’s top civil-military body, subsequently condemned the “fallacious” statement and termed Sharif’s remarks as “incorrect and misleading”, reported PTI. However, Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), defended his statement, saying the Indian media had “grossly misinterpreted” it.
On Thursday, the petitioner, Pakistan Zindabad Party chief Aftab Virk, who is also a lawyer,
contended that Sharif’s statements amounted to “committing treason” against the country. He pleaded that Sharif be tried under Article 6 of the Pakistani constitution.
Virk had filed the petition on behalf of Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, The Express Tribune reported. Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was also mentioned as a respondent in the plea apart from Nawaz.
Lahore High Court Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza dismissed the petition, declaring it “non-maintainable”, and asked Virk to approach the “relevant forum” with his complaint.
Sharif quit as prime minister in July 2017 after the Supreme Court disqualified him from the post because of corruption charges against him and his family in the Panama Papers case.
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