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Rana Sanaullah acquitted in drugs case

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  • PML-N leader given clean chit in drugs smuggling case.
  • Prosecutor resigns 15 mins before court was to take up acquittal plea.
  • PML-N takes a jibe at PTI after acquittal.

LAHORE: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Saturday has been acquitted by a special court in Lahore in a drugs smuggling case filed against him in 2019.

Sanaullah was arrested on July 01, 2019, by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Lahore team near Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway. He was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore. 

The ANF claimed to have recovered 15kg of heroin from his vehicle, while it arrested five others, including Sanaullah’s driver and security guards.

He was sent on judicial remand the next day by the court.

Sanaullah remained incarcerated for six months until the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted him bail on December 24, 2019.

The then PTI government drew heavy fire from the opposition and was alleged of carrying out a political witch-hunt against rivals. The Imran Khan-led regime, however, denied having a hand in Sanaullah’s arrest.

The PML-N leader had filed a plea in the court seeking acquittal today and sought an early hearing. The court then fixed the hearing for 2pm.

At the outset of the hearing, Prosecutor Danish Mashkoor informed the court that he has resigned and was no more associated with the case. “I can not sign off witnesses’ statement.”

After this, the remaining two prosecutors signed the document.

Rana Sanaullah’s counsel, Advocate Farhad Shah, argued before the court that two witnesses in the case have retracted their statements. “They were witnesses of the recovery memo,” the defence informed the court and added, “The prosecution has no case to prove”.

The court then announced the verdict acquitting Rana Sanaullah and other co-accused Sibtain, Usman, Amir, and Akram from the drugs smuggling case.

Witnesses retract statements

Inspector Ehsan Azam, a witness in the case, said: “he has no knowledge of the events nor was the recovery made in his presence”.

“I did not witness recovery. I was made a witness but I don’t know the facts neither I support the prosecution’s case in any way.”

Another witness, Assistant Director Imtiaz Ahmed, told the court that he was not aware of Rana Sanaullah’s case and drugs were not recovered in his presence.

“I was made a witness in the case; I do not support the prosecution’s case. I did not see any recovery of drugs.”

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Nawaz Sharif departs for a five-day personal visit to China.

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Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a former prime minister, departed for China on Monday night for a five-day private visit.

Nawaz Sharif is visiting China, escorted by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Nawaz Sharif reportedly planned to see Chinese company owners as well as discuss the Punjab province’s development projects. During his visit in China, he will also have a medical examination.

In addition, the fact that Nawaz and his party chose China for his first overseas trip after he returned to Pakistan in October of last year shows how much weight the Asian superpower holds.

Eight other Chinese companies were reportedly prepared to start working right away, while 16 Chinese companies had expressed interest in the Nawaz Sharif IT City, which is the brainchild of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who has plans for similar projects in all of the province’s major cities.

Remarkably, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s scheduled visit to China ahead of his anticipated talks with Chinese authorities next month coincides with the elder Sharif’s visit.

Dar’s presence alongside Nawaz simultaneously underscores the party leadership’s confidence in him and serves as a reminder of why he was chosen to be foreign minister.

The fact that this visit was organized in the wake of the recent terror assault in Shangla on Chinese engineers involved in the Dasu hydroelectric Project, however, may provide some insight into the significance of this visit.

That was followed by Pakistan’s resolute pledge to deal harshly with those groups that have been attacking Chinese citizens in an effort to undermine the cordial relations between the two countries.

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The creation of a provincial enforcement authority is approved by the PunjabCM.

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The creation of a provincial enforcement authority in Punjab has received clearance from Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab.

District and tehsil-level provincial enforcement authority was presented to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz during a meeting that she convened.

Maryam gave her approval for the authority to be established and gave the order to begin the legislative procedure right now.

In every district and tehsil in Punjab, she stated, enforcement authorities will be constituted. According to her, a director-general will be appointed in addition to the chief secretary leading the provincial enforcement authority.

The deputy commissioner will lead the district enforcement authority, while the assistant commissioner will lead the tehsil enforcement authority.

Tasks specific to encroachments on government lands will be carried out by enforcement agencies. Additionally, the authority will have the ability to investigate and prosecute cases of overpricing, hoarding, and encroachment on government territory.

The tehsil enforcement unit will oversee the establishment of a police station and special force at the tehsil level. To be appointed in the tehsil enforcement authority are a unit in command, investigation officers, enforcement officers, and constables.

In addition to carrying out legal duties, the tehsil enforcement unit will be able to file charges, conduct investigations, and make arrests. Additionally, for monitoring purposes, the offices of the district and provincial enforcement authorities will be set up.

In six months, the province’s enforcement agencies are to be activated, under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s directive.

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PTI announces a public meeting in Karachi.

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Haleem Adil Sheikh said in a statement released here that the decision to reschedule the public event was made during the party’s political committee meeting. He said that instead of being conducted on April 28, the PTI’s public meeting would now take place on May 5 next to Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum.

According to the head of PTI Sindh, his party had asked the Deputy Commissioner East for permission to hold the meeting.

He claimed that the PTI filed a lawsuit in the Sindh High Court after the administration refused to grant them a certificate of non-objection. The hearing for their case is scheduled for April 26, according to Haleem Adil Sheikh.

The PTI Sindh head stated, “Hopefully, we will receive permission from the SHC to hold a Jalsa (public gathering) in Karachi.”

He said that the PTI’s popularity is the reason the Sindh administration is “afraid” and that’s why they haven’t received clearance from the provincial government.

In response to allegations of election tampering and mandate theft in the general elections, the PTI declared a nationwide protest.

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