Tharra-mobile: Suspected smuggler wants car returned, court says no

Owner claims he did not know what it was being used for; PHC denies bail for drug trafficker.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday denied a request for custody of a vehicle which had been seized after 200 bottles and two barrels of moonshine liquor were recovered from it.

Zarwali, the vehicle’s owner, said the vehicle had been given for transporting goods, but he was unaware of what the driver was for transporting in the vehicle.

The court of PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan observed that the vehicle’s owner was supposed to thoroughly check the background of the his employee --- the driver. The court rejected the plea, saying that since the vehicle was evidence in the case, it cannot be given into someone else’s custody.

The same bench also rejected a bail request filed by an alleged drug trafficker.

Wali Gul had been arrested by Inspector Tariq of the Excise and Customs department within the jurisdiction of Jangal Khail Police Station in Kohat for allegedly carrying 10 kilograms of hashish.

Gul had been charged by the police under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act (CNSA). He later filed an application before the court seeking bail, which was turned down by the court of PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan.

Fake degree hearing adjourned

Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing of a fake degree case against member provincial assembly Atifur Rehman after his counsel, Abdul Latif Afridi, requested an adjournment citing lack of preparation on his part.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2013.