By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: A local court on Friday ordered alleged drug queenpin Anmol, better known as Pinky, to be held in judicial custody for 14 days as she faces more than a dozen criminal cases, including narcotics trafficking, illegal weapons possession and murder.
The suspect was produced under tight security at the Judicial Complex inside Central Jail Karachi after completing her physical remand periods. Judicial magistrates handling cases registered at the Baghdadi, Specialised Investigation Unit (SIU/CIA), Gizri and Darakhshan police stations sent her back to jail on judicial remand in each matter. Investigation officers were directed to complete their probes and submit charge sheets.
The development marks the latest chapter in a high-profile case that has drawn attention across Pakistan since Pinky’s arrest earlier this month. Authorities say the operation has exposed a sophisticated drug supply network operating in Karachi, with tentacles reaching into Punjab and involving foreign nationals.
Pinky was detained on May 12 from an apartment in Karachi’s Garden area during a joint raid by police and a civilian intelligence agency. Officers reported recovering unlicensed weapons, cocaine and other narcotics valued at approximately Rs1.5 million. Police have alleged that she ran a drug distribution ring in the port city, with preliminary investigations suggesting she oversaw monthly sales exceeding Rs20 million.
The suspect has denied the allegations. According to her account, she was detained in Lahore 15 days before being transferred to Karachi. Even before her most recent arrest, she had already been named in multiple criminal cases; her latest detention brought the total number of active cases against her to more than a dozen.
Earlier Friday, the South district and sessions judge approved requests from the Darakhshan, Gizri, Garden and Defence police stations to produce Pinky before the court. Prosecutors sought continued police custody in all matters — including a fresh narcotics case, a murder case registered at Baghdadi police station, and 10 older drug-related cases — but the magistrates opted for judicial remand.
The case first drew public scrutiny after a video circulated on social media showing Pinky being presented before a judicial magistrate in Karachi without handcuffs and under what appeared to be special protocol. Karachi Additional Inspector General Azad Khan later said the apparent lapse led to disciplinary action against the officers involved.
During initial questioning, sources told local media that Pinky acknowledged paying hundreds of thousands of rupees each month in bribes to various police stations in Karachi. Investigators have also uncovered evidence of foreign involvement in the network. At a May 15 press conference, AIG Khan said the ring included six African nationals and several women based in Lahore. Raids to apprehend remaining accomplices were continuing, he said.
Separately, South Zone police are seeking the Sindh government’s permission to send a team to Punjab to arrest 15 co-suspects named in two of the cases. In a letter dated Thursday, South Zone Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza asked Karachi AIG Azad Khan to forward the request to the Home Department.
The list of wanted individuals includes two of Pinky’s former husbands — Muhammad Akram, described as a facilitator, and Nasir Ali Khan, identified as a drug supplier — as well as her brothers Muhammad Nasir Bux, labeled a manager, and Shaukat Bux, described as a mule. Also named as key “lynchpins” connecting Pinky to an international drug cartel are Beesal Emika alias Anna and Humaira Chinonso Solomon. Nine others are listed as drug carriers: Faraz Mehmood Yaqoob, Muhammad Amin Khan Khanju, Ghulam Mustafa Ibrahim, Sajjad Hussain, Zafar Iqbal, Qazi Muhammad Asif, Sohail Mushtaq, Waris Khan and Muhammad Zahid Noor.
In a related development in Lahore, a sessions judge on May 20 directed police to register a first information report against former deputy superintendent of police Rana Muhammad Akram — identified in Karachi investigations as one of Pinky’s ex-husbands. The order came on a petition filed by stage actress Yasmeen Tabassam, known professionally as Nigar Chaudhry. Tabassam alleged that Akram conducted an illegal raid on her house in July 2024 and stole property worth Rs5.5 million. The judge noted that Akram had retired from the Organised Crime Unit on Feb. 14, 2025, and that police had failed to complete a departmental inquiry into his conduct.
Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho has described the case as potentially far-reaching. Speaking at a May 19 press conference in Karachi, the provincial police chief said several prominent names could surface as the investigation proceeds. He announced the formation of a special task force and urged citizens to come forward with information and testify in court, emphasizing that the fight against narcotics trafficking is a shared responsibility. “People should provide information to assist authorities,” Odho said. “We are forming a task force.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
