LAHORE: An anti-narcotics court on Saturday reserved verdict on a petition by former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan who sought submission of video evidence and that he be returned his vehicle.

The PML-N Punjab president filed a petition in court praying to release his vehicle on supardari.

His counsel Advocate Farhad Ali Shah argued that Rana Sanaullah had acted against several outlawed groups as law minister and faced threat to his life. He pleaded for return of the bullet-proof vehicle that is in the custody of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).

The ANF counsel while opposing the plea, argued that Rana Sanaullah didn’t express any apprehension about threat to his life earlier. He said the vehicle was taken into custody in a drugs case and it could not be handed over on supardari.

The court reserved the verdict and adjourned hearing till Feb 8.

Ex-minister wants his car back from ANF

Rana Sanaullah was arrested in July last by the ANF on the motorway near Sukheki area. According to the ANF spokesperson, drugs were recovered from the PML-N leader’s car. His name was put on the Exit Control List (ECL) and he was released on bail on Dec 26.

Speaking to the media outside court, Rana Sanaullah alleged that the government was victimising him on political grounds by registering a fake case against him. He said the officials were propagating on the media that the trial of the case should be started but it first changed the judge of the case through Whatsapp and was now not providing stenographer, vehicle and other facilities to the newly appointed judge.

He said during the proceeding of the case, it came out that federal minister Sheharyar Afridi claimed that the ANF had first arrested from Faisalabad airport a suspect who had given the clue that led to his arrest.

The PML-N leader questioned why the ANF was not presenting other arrested persons. He said federal minister Sheharyar Afridi on the floor of House had given statement by placing his hand on the Holy Quran that a conspiracy was being hatched against Mr Sanaullah and he and Prime Minister Imran Khan were not involved in the case.

He said it was the responsibility of the government to reveal the person who conspired against him. He also appealed to court that Mr Afridi and the ANF director general should be summoned to submit video evidence of the case.

The government was registering false cases against the opposition members to hide their incompetence, he said, adding that the opposition parties would hold a meeting to plan protest in and outside parliament over inflation.

Answering a question about PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif’s picture while sitting in a hotel, he said if a patient could visit his doctor and hospital for check-up, how he could not go for dinner or lunch at a restaurant.

He predicted that the government’s days were numbered and there would be mid-term elections.

Meanwhile, adviser to prime minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that Rana Sanaullah had lost his mind because his party leadership once again ran away from the country.

“As Mr Sanaullah was claiming that Nawaz Shairf can visit hospital for checkup and can also go to restaurant then it means that he was healthy and he could go to jail from restaurant,” she said.

She said Mr Sanaullah should first resolve internal matters of their party leadership and hold mid-term elections there.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2020