Court summons ANF chief, federal secretaries over drugs in school

Cases of Abbasi deferred; court allows Danyal Siddiqui to enter the club

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: In wake of the alleged rising use of drugs by students on campus, a high court on Wednesday issued summons to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) director apart from secretaries of the health, interior and education ministries to appear at the next hearing.

This was directed by a single bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Amir Farooq, as he heard a petition filed by Lucky Foundation.

The foundation’s legal representative Kashif Malik told the court that as per a recent United Nation’s report, there was an alarming use of narcotics by students in Islamabad.

He added that according to former state minister for interior Shaheryar Afridi, around 75 per cent of girls and 45 per cent of boys allegedly were addicted to drugs.

Moreover, he pointed to the arrest of three policemen recently who had been arrested while supplying narcotics to students. The court issued  summons to the ANF officials along with notices to the secretaries of health, interior and education ministries. Joint secretaries or senior officials of the related ministries were also directed to appear in person at the next hearing of the case which was set to be held in two week’s time.

Hanif Abbasi hearing adjourned

An Anti-Narcotics Court has adjourned hearings over confiscating assets of former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, Hanif Abbasi, and his family in the ephedrine case.

The court has now issued a notice to Abbasi, directing him to submit a clarification in the next hearing scheduled for May 11. This was directed by Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram. The Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF) had lodged an application urging the court to order the seizure of Abbasi’s property.

Separately, the court adjourned hearings against the owner of the Global Pharmaceutical Company Khawaja Asad in the ephedrine quota allotment case till May 18.

The suspect’s statement will be recorded in the next hearing. Separately, Additional District and Session’s Judge Malik Shafiq Ahmed adjourned the Rs10 billion defamation case Abbasi had filed against Prime Minister Imran Khan until May 8.

Abbasi had appeared before the court after his release on bail and had claimed that Imran had damaged his reputation by calling him a drug smuggler.

Aziz allowed to enter GCC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday voided orders to bar Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Danyal Aziz from entering the Gun and Country Club in the capital.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the counsel for Aziz told the court that when he went to visit the club and presented his photo identification documents at the gate, guards deputed there told him that he was not allowed to enter.

The counsel said that Aziz is being asked to clarify the appointment of a legal advisor during his tenure as the administrator of the club by virtue of his government position between 2013-2018.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2019.