Ephedrine case: Danas Pharma's former director emerges as witness

Says Shahabuddin’s agent Anjum Shah was front man in allotment process, was paid an amount of Rs6 million.

RAWALPINDI: Another accused in the Ephedrine quota scandal has emerged as an immunity-granted witness. Rizwan Khan, a former director of the Danas Pharmaceutical Company recorded his statement in the trial court hearing the case, Express News reported Thursday.

Khan, whose name has now been moved from the list of the accused in the case to witnesses, said that quotas of 2,500kg and 6,500kg were allotted to Danas Pharmaceutical Company and Berlex Limited, respectively.

He said that former minister for health Makhdoom Shahabuddin’s agent Anjum Shah was the front man in the allotment process and after the allotment, he was paid an amount of Rs6 million.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench had directed a special judge to record the statement of former director general health Dr Rasheed Jumma as an approver in the ephedrine quota allocation case.

Anti-Narcotics Force Special Public Prosecutor Waseem Ahmed Qureshi had informed the high court that Dr Jumma, who was one of the accused, had confessed before the investigators that he under pressure– from Ali Musa Gillani, the son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, former Health Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, and former Health Secretary Khushnud Lashari — allocated huge quotas of ephedrine to two pharmaceutical companies.