Hanif Abbasi seeks decision on an appeal against conviction

Lahore High Court’s (LHC) acting Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan on Wednesday issued notice to concerned quarters and sought a reply by May 18 in regards to a writ petition requesting the court to fix and decide the appeal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi who had filed a petition against the punishment handed to him in ephedrine quota case.

The petitioner’s counsel, President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Ahsan Bhoon, appeared before the court and contended that his client had been deliberately implicated in a politically motivated case in 2018 by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) with the intention to humiliate him.

Later, the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court in Rawalpindi had awarded Abbasi life imprisonment, the counsel prayed.

He further contended that an appeal had been filed but in the meanwhile, LHC had suspended the implementation of punishment and had released the appellant.

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“Appeal of the convict had not been decided yet,” the counsel prayed. “The appeal should be transferred to Lahore's principal seat and be decided.”

It is pertinent to mention that a CNS Court, in July 2018, handed life imprisonment to convict Abbasi in the ephedrine quota case.

Abbasi at that time was contesting elections against Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid from NA-60 (Rawalpindi).

Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram had pronounced the judgment, saying Abbasi was found guilty of selling 500kg ephedrine illegally to narcotics smugglers.

He also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on the PML-N leader. The court had also acquitted seven other accused in the case while giving them the benefit of doubt.