By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: A Karachi court on Monday granted police four more days to question Anmol, the alleged drug supplier better known as Pinky, in a murder investigation, even as the suspect told a magistrate she was being pressured to implicate prominent figures and had endured repeated mistreatment in custody.
The extension came after a tense hearing inside the heavily guarded Judicial Complex at Central Prison Karachi, where South Judicial Magistrate Kalsoom Mustafa ordered that any further interrogation of Anmol occur in the presence of female police officers and that she undergo a fresh medical examination by a medicolegal officer. The magistrate also directed investigators to produce a progress report when Anmol returns to court on May 22.
Anmol, who was arrested May 12 from an apartment in Karachi’s Garden area, already faces at least 15 criminal cases. She had completed a two-day physical remand in the murder case registered at Baghdadi police station and was already under physical remand until May 22 in a separate narcotics investigation. Her judicial remand in 13 other cases runs until May 30.
During the hearing, Anmol’s lawyer, Advocate Liaquat Gabol, told the court that the complainant in the murder case was not a blood relative of the victim and alleged that authorities were exerting pressure on his client “to falsely implicate politicians, actresses and other influential persons.” The magistrate’s written order quoted the defense submission directly.
Anmol herself, speaking from the dock, repeated earlier claims of torture and maltreatment. “Not one but many investigation officers tortured me,” she said, according to accounts later given to reporters by her counsel. She also insisted that voice recordings authorities say link her to drug trafficking were AI-generated and claimed investigators had warned her not to mention certain videos while pressing her to “take names.”
The courtroom, packed with lawyers, police and court staff, grew chaotic when Anmol tried to address journalists directly. Magistrate Mustafa ordered reporters and other spectators to leave. Defense and prosecution lawyers briefed the media afterward.
Public prosecutor Shakeel Abbasi argued that drugs recovered from Anmol had not yet been sent for forensic analysis and that investigators needed more time to probe her alleged network. Police had initially sought a nine-day extension of physical remand; the defense opposed it, warning that Anmol could be drawn into additional cases under duress. Gabol also renewed a request for a medical examination, noting that one ordered by the court on Saturday had not been carried out.
Magistrate Mustafa granted the four-day extension and separately approved a police request to record the murder complainant’s statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on May 21.
The case is the latest chapter in a high-profile investigation that began when police and a civilian intelligence agency raided Anmol’s residence on May 12. Authorities said they seized an unlicensed weapon, cocaine and other narcotics worth approximately 1.5 million rupees. Investigators later told the court they recovered 1,540 grams of cocaine and 6,970 grams of raw material during the operation.
Anmol has denied running a drug supply network and told investigators she was detained in Lahore about 15 days before being transferred to Karachi. Preliminary police inquiries, according to sources familiar with the probe, suggested she paid hundreds of thousands of rupees monthly in bribes to various Karachi police stations and moved narcotics valued at more than 20 million rupees each month, often using motorcycle riders to deliver to clients.
At a May 15 news conference, Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Azad Khan said the investigation had uncovered foreign links to the ring, including six African nationals, as well as women based in Lahore. Raids to apprehend additional suspects were continuing, he said.
Separately on Monday, the Counter-Terrorism Department moved to assert its own interest in Anmol. The CTD filed an application before an additional district and sessions judge seeking a copy of the police record from the narcotics case, noting that it intends to arrest her in connection with a separate CTD matter. In that case, her brother was acquitted while Anmol remained a fugitive, according to the filing.
In another development, a sessions judge in South Karachi rejected a review petition by Darakhshan police seeking to challenge Anmol’s judicial remand in five cases. The judge ruled that because she is currently in physical police custody, any further request for access should be made to the concerned judicial magistrate. Anmol’s lawyers have portrayed her as the target of a campaign to extract politically damaging information. Police and prosecutors describe her as a central figure in a sophisticated drug distribution operation spanning multiple cities and involving international connections. The next court date, set for May 22, is expected to bring fresh details on both the murder inquiry and the broader narcotics investigation.
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