Pakistani ex-PM Sharif in court again, faces treason charges

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in court again — this time on treason charges for comments he made earlier this year, claiming militants had crossed from Pakistan into India to carry out the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The remarks from May, when Sharif was no longer premier, had irked Pakistan’s military and the government. They rejected the allegations.

Monday’s hearing lasted only five minutes, after which the case was adjourned until Oct. 22.

Journalist Cyril Almedia, who interviewed Sharif when he made the Mumbai remarks, is also on trial in the same case as Sharif, also facing treason charges, along with another former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Abbasi is accused of sharing details of a security meeting with Sharif.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Sharif in 2017.