PESHAWAR, Jan 15: The Peshawar High Court on Monday directed the special anti-narcotics court to start trial of a Nigerian woman on daily basis and conclude it within two months.

The PHC bench comprising Justice Khalida Rachied directed that if the trial of the woman, arrested on charges of drug pushing, could not be concluded in the specified period, she could move the court for release on bail.

The accused, Fatima Mohammad, who is pregnant, has been in prison for the last about five months. She had filed a petition before the high court stating that she was arrested on unsubstantiated charges and the case be quashed.

However, her petition was dismissed on the ground that the Anti-Narcotics Force had submitted challan of the case in the court of special judge, anti-narcotics.

In one of the two cases against her, the court in Haripur district had declared that she was falsely implicated by the ANF. The court had also fined the ANF for Rs25,000 for vexatious allegations and directed that the amount should be paid to the woman.

The ANF was reportedly searching for a woman, Safaralo alias Fatima of Sierra Leone, who was charged in different cases and could not be traced out. The ANF arrested the accused despite the fact that neither the country of origin, nor the passport numbers of the two women matched.

The petition was taken up by Justice Khalida Rachied on different occasions but her case could not be decided due to one reason or another.  

At an earlier hearing, the bench asked the applicant’s counsel to produce school documents of her daughter, who studies in Islamabad.  

When the documents were produced, the bench observed that the case had yet not been admitted for full hearing and notice should be issued to the ANF.

After a gap of one month, her case was fixed on Monday, but to utter disappointment of the petitioner, Advocate Tariq Kakar, appearing for the ANF, informed the bench that the challan had been submitted before the trial court.

Advocate Sher Bahadur, appearing for the petitioner, stated that the woman was not in good health and no evidence was available against her.