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Nawaz's lawyers withdraw from defence

KARACHI: Two defence lawyers in the plane hijack trial of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif have withdrawn from the case in protest at a court ruling, one of them said on Sunday.

Main defence lawyer Ijaz Batalvi told Reuters by telephone from Lahore that he and colleague Khwaja Sultan had withdrawn because of last Friday's trial court ruling that a statement by Nawaz Sharif should be made in private. An Anti-Terrorism Court judge, Rehmat Hussain Jafri, made the ruling after the prosecution asked that Nawaz Sharif's statement be given in camera because of worries that state secrets would be revealed.

"I and Khwaja Sultan have withdrawn from the case as we cannot continue under the circumstances," Batalvi said. "We feel that we cannot defend our client in accordance with law."

He said the prosecution had publicised all sorts of allegations against Nawaz Sharif and added: "Now when it is his turn to say, you do not want to give him the chance."-Reuters