Court defers Sanaullah’s indictment in drugs case

Interior minister has now been summoned on July 23

LAHORE:

A special court for control of narcotics substances on Saturday deferred the indictment of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in a drugs case after he excused himself from the hearing due to his busy schedule.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, who was arrested on July 1, 2019, for allegedly carrying 15 kilos of heroin in his car, faces charges that could lead to a death sentence or jail term of up to 14 years along with a fine of Rs1 million under Section 9(C) of Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, if proven guilty in the court of law.
Although he was denied bail by the trial court, the Lahore High Court (LHC) released him on December 24, 2019, and he came to be the interior minister following the formation of the coalition government after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ouster.
Sanaullah was scheduled to be indicted on June 25, but he did not attend the hearing and had his lawyers tell the court that he was busy with the ongoing budget session in the National Assembly.
The court thus granted an exemption to the interior minister and summoned him on the next hearing on July 23.
Five others, including the PML-N leader’s driver and security guards, were also arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in 2019. The other suspects in the case were present during the hearing on Saturday.