Probe ordered into high profile heroin case

FAISALABAD:

An inquiry committee has been constituted to investigate a drug case registered against a former deputy nazim arrested by Madina Town Police on charges of recovering two kilograms of heroin, officials said on Saturday.

The committee will re-examine narcotics cases registered in Faisalabad and other districts, following growing political concerns over alleged misuse of anti-narcotics laws.

Over the past four months, two local political figures, including a union council nazim and a former deputy nazim, have been booked in separate drug cases in Faisalabad district. While one was later released on bail, the former deputy nazim was sent to jail.

The case of former deputy nazim Waseem Bajwa gained political attention after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPAs RanaShahriyar Khan and Mian Tahir Jamil raised the issue in the Punjab Assembly, alleging the case was fabricated.

Following the debate in the provincial assembly, Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan directed the formation of an inquiry team under the Law Minister and the Inspector General of Punjab Police. The committee has been tasked with submitting its report within 15 days. According to official data, around 3,200 narcotics cases have been registered across the Faisalabad region during a four-month anti-drug campaign launched on the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz. Of these, 370 cases were registered in Faisalabad district alone.