Ephedrine case: Court issues Lashari’s arrest warrants

Charge sheet handed over to the accused as the court adjourned till June 22.

RAWALPINDI:

The Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Court on Monday issued permanent arrest warrants for former federal health secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari in the infamous ephedrine quota case.

Judge Arshad Mehmood issued the warrants after the accused failed to appear before the court despite several notices.

Earlier Faisal Chaudhry, counsel of former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Musa Gilani, filed an application stating that his client be exempted from appearing before the court due to security threats. The court, after hearing arguments of the attorney, accepted the application.

Other accused, including former health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, were also present in the courtroom. The court ordered to distribute copies of the challan among the accused and adjourned the case till June 22.

So far four accused in this case have become approvers. A former director general health Shaikh Ansar, a former director health Sattar Sorani, a deputy drug controller Ansar Farooq, Iftikhar Babar, Ali Musa’s alleged secretary Tauqeer Ali and his alleged front man Anjum Shah have also been nominated as the main accused.

The challan comprised over 4,000 documents and included the names of 52 witnesses and statements of 125 people. The Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) started a formal probe into the case on October 10, 2011.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2013.