LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday issued notice to Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on post-arrest bail petition of former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan in 15-kg drug recovery case.

Justice Mushtaq Ahmad heard initial arguments of Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar, petitioner’s counsel, and sought a reply from investigating officer of the ANF by Dec 4.

Mr Khan in his petition contended that he was implicated in a false case on political grounds as he had been a strong critic of the government.

The petition mainly relied upon record of Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) pleading that it established innocence of Khan and rejected the story of the prosecution. It said the video record showed that the vehicle of the petitioner travelled a distant of 14.5 km within the span of 10 minutes after his arrest and other events mentioned in the FIR.

The petition said the events of the FIR were not humanly possible to be happened within 10 minutes. It also questioned delay in registration of the FIR after the arrest. The ANF had arrested Mr Khan on July 1 with a recovery of 15-kg heroin. The FIR was lodged under section 9 (C) of Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997, which carries death penalty or life imprisonment or a jail-term that may extend to 14 years along with a fine up to Rs1 million.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2019