IHC rejects acquittal pleas in ephedrine case

The Islamabad High Court on Monday rejected the acquittal pleas of three accused, including former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, in the case regarding ephedrine quota allotment and its alleged smuggling.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan issued a detailed decision, imposing a fine of Rs100,000 each on the three accused.

It has been said in the decision that the legal point had been decided in a case of 2017 and now the same had been brought before the court.

The court imposed a fine of Rs100,000 each on the accused, ordering them to submit it within 30 days.

The Anti-Narcotics Force registered a case of ephedrine smuggling against the trio on Oct 11, 2011.

Accused Shahabuddin, former director general Health Dr Asad Hafeez, and the primary accused, Ansar Farooq Chaudhry, had approached the IHC, seeking relief.

The accused had argued in their petitions that ephedrine should not be classified as a drug, and therefore, the case should be dismissed and they must be acquitted.

Ephedrine is a medication used to manage and treat clinically significant hypotension or low blood pressure. It is in the sympathomimetic class of drugs.