An Anti-Narcotics Court Judge on Saturday accepted the application of PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah for exemption from personal appearance in a drug smuggling case owing to the National Assembly session.
As the proceedings commenced, accused Sana's counsel said his client could not appear before the court as he was attending an assembly session. The judge adjourned the proceedings till July 22.
According to the FIR registered by a deputy director operations of the Anti-Narcotics Force on July 1 last year under sections 186,189 and 353 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and various sections of the CNSA 1997, the ANF received information that Sanaullah was allegedly involved in drug smuggling and taking heroin to Lahore. The ANF arranged a raiding team consisting of 21 officials. They reached the Ravi Toll Plaza and intercepted two vehicles coming from the motorway. When Sanaullah was asked about the drugs, he admitted there was heroin in a suitcase behind his seat, the report stated. Meanwhile, Sanaullah’s guards attempted to rescue him but failed.
The police recovered 15kg of heroin, guns, pistols and bullets from their possession and took them to the ANF headquarter, the complainant said.
Last year, the PML-N leader, who served as the provincial law minister during the previous PML-N government, was granted bail on December 24 by the Lahore High Court (LHC). He had denied the charge, terming it ‘politically motivated.’ In its nine-page bail granting judgment in December, the LHC said that the counsel of petitioner also argued that the case was registered for the reasons that petitioner was a vocal member of the opposition party and was criticising the policies of the incumbent government and on that account, he was put behind bars.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2020.
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