Self-defeating cases

The detailed verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on granting bail to former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah has raised a host of concerning questions regarding not only the conduct of this government but also on the country’s efforts to combat the serious problem of drug trafficking. Sanaullah had been arrested in July for allegedly transporting around 15 kilogrammes of heroin in the back of his car along with five armed guards. The court, however, pointed out significant lapses in how the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) conducted itself during the arrest and thereafter when trying to prove the case against the PML-N leader.

The court noted that the ANF never prepared the necessary memos about the recoveries made at the site and that the force took the suspect, his gunmen, vehicle and cargo to the police station to review the evidence and proceed with other formalities. The court noted that this was a lapse and the explanations offered by the force was “neither plausible nor convincing”.

Even more surprising, the court noted, was that the ANF, having allegedly caught a major node in a drug-smuggling ring, never sought physical remand of the suspect at any time during the six months he spent in jail, to trace other members of his suspected smuggling ring.

Pakistan is one of the largest nodes for drug smuggling in the world, serving as a conduit for drugs from Afghanistan to the rest of the world. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has for years worked with Pakistani authorities to combat drug trafficking in the region and has warned that eventually, Pakistan will convert from a net carrier to net consumer of drugs.

Every day, several people are caught at airports of the country trying to smuggle drugs to various international destinations. In countries like Saudi Arabia, several Pakistanis are executed every year for drug trafficking.

The ANF’s failure to complete even simple procedures raises questions on its competency to prosecute even simple cases and betrays the state of its will to do so. The government and the ANF must act to rectify these.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2019.

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