IHC dismisses ephedrine case appeals

The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals seeking removal of the provisions of the anti-narcotic law from the ephedrine quota case and ruled that the trial would continue against ex-premier Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Musa Gilani, former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and other suspects.

A division bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani and Justice Fayyaz Ahmed Jandran, while announcing its verdict on appeals filed by the suspects challenging the inclusion of Section 9(c) the Control of Narcotic Substances. Act, 1997, held that only the trial court would decide as to whether the case was related to narcotics or not.

Section 9(c) of the law reads: “death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years and shall also be liable to fine which may be up to one million rupees, if the quantity of narcotic drug, psychotropic substance or controlled substance exceeds the limits specified in clause (b [exceeds one kilogramme].”

The case regarding the illegal sale of ephedrine was registered after two pharmaceutical companies — Danas Pharmaceutical Limited and Berlex Lab International – were accused of obtaining export quotas for the drug in collusion with the health ministry officials that exceeded the limits fixed by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

Back in 2010, Ali was allegedly accused of influencing health ministry officials to allocate a quota of controlled chemical ephedrine, reportedly worth Rs70 billion, to two different Multan-based pharmaceutical companies. Apart from use in medicines, the substance is also used in the manufacture of a prohibited drug.

Ephedrine is often abused for its stimulant qualities. As a phenylethylamine, ephedrine also has a similar chemical structure to amphetamines. Because of this similarity, it can be used to create methamphetamine using a chemical reduction. This makes ephedrine a highly sought-after chemical precursor in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine.

The Gilani family has always pleaded innocence, claiming Ali had nothing to do with the ephedrine case, and that the family and the PPP was being politically victimised.

The ANF’s investigation, however, had allegedly established a direct link between Ali and the multi-billion drug scandal.

Former director general health Dr Rasheed Jumma in his statement had accused both Ali and Shahabuddin of pressurising him to convert the export quota so that 9,000kg ephedrine could be used for local consumption in 2010.

Two pharmaceutical companies allocated huge quantities of ephedrine in excess of their quotas. Both firms did not keep a record of consumption of the controlled chemical.

Another accused Rizwan Khan, former director of Danas Pharmaceuticals, in his statement as an approver had claimed that ephedrine was smuggled to Iran through Balochistan which netted Rs7 billion for the people involved.

Initially, the accused persons were tried by CNS court of Rawalpindi but in 2014 in the light of the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict passed on a petition of chief executive of Berlix Pharmaceutical Iftikhar Babar, the judge observed that it did not fall under the territorial jurisdiction of Rawalpindi’s court.

The ANF then took up the matter to the Supreme Court and the apex court remanded the case to the CNS court of Islamabad.