ISLAMABAD: The special court for the control of narcotics substance (CNS) of Islamabad on Friday resumed hearing in ephedrine case after a gap of almost a year.

Among others, a former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and a son of former prime minister Ali Musa Gillani, who were present in the court, were prime suspects in the case.

Judge Irum Niazi adjourned the case and summoned all the accused on Dec 16, the next date of hearing.

Initially, the accused were tried by CNS court of Rawalpindi but in 2014, but the Lahore High Court (LHC) judge while giving verdict on a petition of chief executive of Berlix Pharmaceutical Iftikhar Babar, observed that the case did not fall in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi’s court.

Judge summons all accused on Dec 16 to formally indict them

The ANF then took the matter to the Supreme Court, which has recently remanded the case to the CNS court of Islamabad.

The ephedrine case, which rocked the PPP government some five years ago, is still at its initial stages as the accused have not been formally charge sheeted.

The case came to the surface in March 2011 when the then federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin told the National Assembly that the government would thoroughly investigate the alleged allocation of 9,000kg ephedrine to two pharmaceutical companies: Berlex and Danas. Under the rules, a company cannot get more than 500kg of ephedrine.

The then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry began hearing the case and in early 2012 he pointed out that Ali Musa Gillani, son of then prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, was also a suspect in the case.

In June 2011, as President Asif Ali Zardari nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate for the prime minister after Yousaf Raza Gillani was removed by a court order, the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) issued arrest warrants for him. Consequently, Makhdoom Shahab could no longer be PPP’s prime ministerial candidate as he turned out to be a prime accused in the ephedrine case.

The key evidence against Makhdoom Shahab was a statement by Rasheed Juma, the former director general of health. Juma was the main accused in the case as he allocated the quota to pharmaceutical companies, but he turned approver against the minister. He alleged that the allocations were made on Shahab’s verbal orders.

According to Abdul Rasheed Sheikh, the counsel representing 10 suspects in the case, including Makhdoom Shahabuddin, on the next date of hearing, the court may distribute copies of charge-sheet among all the accused which is a pre-requisite for indictment.

Makhdoom Shahab through his counsel filed an application seeking exemption from personal appearance in future proceedings of the court. He said being an old man it was difficult for him to travel from Rahimyar Khan to Islamabad on every date of hearing.

The special prosecutor of the ANF Chaudhry Ihtisham on the other hand opposed the request saying that since the proceedings are at their initial stages therefore the presence of the accused is mandatory until he is indicted and the trial is formally commenced.

Published in Dawn December 3rd, 2016