Drug smuggling: What couldn’t ‘save’ Zardari, rescues sailor

Bail granted after two years on recently restored law.

KARACHI: A recently reinserted section of the Criminal Procedure Code that was taken out by Nawaz Sharif when he was prime minister, to prevent the release of Asif Ali Zardari, was put to good use by a sailor’s lawyer on Tuesday.

Sailor Khuda Bux, caught with 620 kilogrammes (kg) of cannabis, was granted bail by the Sindh High Court after his lawyer relied on Section 497. It states that if a person commits a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment but his trial is delayed and he spends two years in prison continuously, he is entitled to bail.

According to the prosecution, a ship sunk near Churna Island back in 2008 and during the search and rescue, the Maritime Security Agency jawans discovered 620 kg of cannabis around its fuel tank. The boat’s 10 crew members were taken into custody and handed over to the Pakistan Customs who registered a case against them. While his nine crewmembers were granted bail in Sept 2009, Khuda Bux’s bail plea was rejected as he was the one in charge of the boat and crew. As Khuda Bux’s trial and verdict were delayed, his lawyer, Muhammad Farooq, decided to rely on Section 497 and as a result, the court granted him bail for Rs500,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st,  2011.