Narcotics case against Sanaullah was rubbish, says Fawad Chaudhry

Interior minister Rana Sanaullah was accused of drug trafficking in 2019 by the ANF

Former federal minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the alleged narcotics case pursued against incumbent interior minister Rana Sanaullah was "rubbish".

During an interview with a private news channel on Thursday, the PTI leader said, “when this case was brought before the cabinet and I spoke up about it, the concerned officer left”.

پی ٹی آئی کے دور حکومت میں راناثناءاللہ پر جو 15کلو ہیروئن کا کیس بنایا گیا تھا وہ کیس جھوٹا تھا شہریار آفریدی نے جھوٹی قسم اٹھائی تھی ۔ انکے سابقہ کارنامے خود انکے لوگوں کے زبانی ۔فواد چوہدری کا اعتراف pic.twitter.com/nSSpAKO8An

— Younas Khan (@Younaaskhan) July 7, 2022

In response to who the “concerned officer” was, Chaudhry’s response was vague. However, he stated that he never believed the case had merit, “when I asked questions regarding the case, I knew the case was just rubbish.”

Referring to former state minister for narcotics control Shehryar Afridi’s oath which had taken regarding the case's veracity, Chaudhry remarked, “what he did was wrong”.

Sanaullah was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on July 1, 2019, from the Islamabad-Lahore motorway. The ANF claimed to have recovered 15 kilogrammes of heroin and other drugs from his possession during the operation conducted on a tip-off.

Read Rana Sanaullah to be indicted in drugs case on June 25

The PML-N leader insisted he had been implicated in a false case and was being politically victimised.

Afridi during a national assembly session stated, “If you [Sanaullah] are speaking the truth then you must face the trial and do not use the delaying tactics.”

Furthermore, the ANF had accused Sanaullah of drug trafficking, stating that the minister admitted to being involved in practice for the last few years.

"Rana Sanaullah used to take drugs from Afghans in Faisalabad and supply them abroad. He said his vehicle was not checked so he used to smuggle drugs in his personal vehicle," the challan said.