Pinky sent to jail on judicial remand

The hearing of cases against alleged cocaine queenpin Anmol alias Pinky took a new turn on Friday as a court, after reviewing the progress of the investigation, rejected the police request for further physical remand and sent the accused on judicial remand, directing jail authorities to produce her again on May 25.

The proceedings were held at the Judicial Complex inside Karachi Central Jail under tight security arrangements, where the accused was presented upon completion of her physical remand.

According to Special Public Prosecutor Shakeel Abbasi, the prosecution argued that further physical remand was necessary to expand the investigation and dismantle the alleged drug network.

He informed the court that around 850 contacts linked to narcotics trafficking had surfaced during the probe and claimed that the accused was running a manufacturing setup in Lahore, for which a letter had already been sent to the DIG concerned for a raid.

The prosecution further contended that Pinky is a high-profile and "highly skilled" accused, stating that additional custody was required to complete investigations and obtain forensic reports related to recovered narcotics.

However, defence counsels Mir Hidayatullah and Asadullah Jadoon opposed the plea for further remand, arguing that their client had already remained in police custody for nine days and no meaningful progress had been shown. They argued that the prosecution's claims regarding a manufacturing unit were unsubstantiated. During the hearing, the court questioned the necessity of further physical remand in the absence of a progress report from the investigating officers. The court also observed that the accused had already been on physical remand for nine days and expressed concern over the incomplete investigation in the case.