PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi acquitted in ephedrine case

Party leader challenged trial court’s life sentence verdict in LHC

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday acquitted PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi in the long-pending ephedrine quota case, declaring the former National Assembly member’s life imprisonment sentence as null and void.

Hanif, who was charged with smuggling and misuse of ephedrine, challenged the trial court's life imprisonment judgment against him after the prosecution proved that the allegations were accurate.

A day earlier, a division bench comprising by Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural reserved its decision in the case.

During the proceedings, the bench raised questions about the legality of the case and observed that the mere possession of ephedrine did not constitute guilt if it was not misused.

The law officer conceded that no allegations of smuggling could be substantiated against the PML-N leader. Hanif’s counsel argued that his client had been intentionally embroiled in a ”politically motivated” and fabricated case in 2018 by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), solely to “humiliate” him.

The Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court in Rawalpindi sentenced Hanif to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him on July 2018 -- just days before the general elections.

At that time, Abbasi was contesting the election against Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid from NA-60 (Rawalpindi).

An appeal was filed against this decision. In the meantime, the LHC suspended the implementation of the punishment, leading to the PML-N leader’s release.

The PML-N leader’s lawyer back then argued that the ephedrine share had been allocated to 28 companies, and an investigation into the excessive issuance of the quota was initiated against his client.

Additionally, allegations were made that Hanif was involved in drug peddling as well.

The bench inquired whether or not any action had been taken against those who allocated the excessive quota, to which the petitioner's lawyer responded affirmatively.

Interestingly, only seven companies were named in the FIR, while the rest were absolved of any wrongdoing. However, the trial court handed down a life sentence to Hanif without delving into the facts or applying judicial discretion.

Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram delivered the verdict, finding Hanif guilty of illegally selling 500kg of ephedrine to narcotics smugglers. He also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on the PML-N leader. The court acquitted seven other suspects in the case, giving them the benefit of doubt.

 The petitioner requested the LHC to annul the trial court's sentence.

Speaking to the media following his acquittal, Hanif expressed his gratitude to the Almighty and praised the wisdom of his party supremo, former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif.

He noted that his leader had predicted in 2012 that the case against him was nothing but a fabricated one. He claimed that during this ordeal, his family had faced significant hardships, with his brother being unlawfully detained and his daughter losing her job.

Hanif went on to affirm that the PML-N would warmly receive its supremo on October 21 and that no one could diminish the public's love and respect for Nawaz.