3,747 drug cases pending, ongoing in courts
The authority failed to appoint a prosecutor despite repeated court orders. PHOTO: EXPRESS
A total number of 3,747 cases are pending or being heard in the special courts for control of narcotics substances and higher courts of the country with Punjab having the highest number of such cases.
According to a report received by The Express Tribune, among the total number of cases till May 30, 2022, a total of 641 cases are pending in the Supreme Court while 792 in the high courts.
Similarly, the special courts have 2,314 cases.
The Punjab courts have the highest number of drug-related cases – 963, which are pending or being heard.
The Punjab special court has 676 such cases, Supreme Court Punjab Registry has 236 whereas the Lahore High Court has 230 cases.
According to the report, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is ranked second with the highest number of narcotics cases.
A total of 935 cases related to drug smuggling are pending before the K-P courts.
There are 181 cases in the K-P Supreme Court Registry whereas in the high court, 77 cases are pending or being heard.
The number of cases before the K-P special court is 677.
The Anti-Narcotics Force Regional Directorate North has 705 such cases pending before the courts of which 285 cases are with the special court and regional directorate north having 155 cases in the Supreme Court and 265 with the high court.
The courts in Sindh have 880 drug-related cases.
The ANF Regional Directorate Sindh has 19 such cases in the Supreme Court and 185 in the high court.
Similarly, the Sindh special court has 767 such cases.
The ANF (Bolan) Balochistan Regional Directorate has 264 cases pending before the courts of which RD Balochistan has 50 cases in the Supreme Court and 35 cases in the Balochistan High Court.
Likewise, the Balochistan special court has 179 such cases.