LAHORE: A special court for the control of narcotic substances in Lahore put off framing of charges against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in a drug smuggling case on Saturday after he failed to show up.
A stalwart of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Sanaullah is accused of carrying 15kg of heroin in his car.
He has maintained his innocence all along, insisting the charges were trumped up to lock him up at the behest of the then prime minister Imran Khan. He was denied bail by the trial court twice but was the Lahore High Court granted him bail on December 24, 2019.
The Minister’s lawyers stated before the court that the Interior Minister was unable to attend the hearing as he was busy with the annual budget session in the National Assembly in Islamabad. Other suspects in the case were present at today’s hearing.
The court has now summoned him on July 23.
He was arrested by a team of Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Lahore near the Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway on July 1, 2019 while he was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore. Five others arrested along with him included his driver and security guards.
The first information report lodged against Rana included Section 9(C) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997, which carries death penalty or life imprisonment or a jail term that may extend to 14 years, along with a fine up to PKR 1 million.
The Minister’s lawyers stated before the court that the Interior Minister was unable to attend the hearing as he was busy with the annual budget session in the National Assembly in Islamabad. Other suspects in the case were present at today’s hearing.
The court has now summoned him on July 23.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved