LAHORE: Issuing notices to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Thursday, the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench admitted a plea against freezing of Textiles Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin’s assets by the force for hearing, DawnNews reported.

Hearing the ephedrine quota case, a divisional bench of the LHC, comprising Justice Sagheer Ahmed and Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, directed the ANF to respond to the notice by Oct 11.

The court also accepted the interim bail application of Col (retd) Tahir Wadood Lahoti, former director of Danas Pharma, and issued further notices to the ANF in this regard for Oct 12.

The ANF is currently investigating pharmaceutical companies for their alleged involvement in the quota misallocation of controlled drug ephedrine.

The high profile case involves Ali Musa Gilani, who is the son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Textiles Minister Makhdoom Shahbuddin, who was the federal health minister at the time of the alleged misallocation, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Hanif Abbasi and other notables.