RAWALPINDI, Aug 6: The lawyers of Federal Minister for Textile Industries Makhdoom Shahabuddin on Monday leveled serious allegations against the Control of Narcotics Substance (CNS) judge while arguing in the ephedrine case in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench.

LHC division bench comprising Justice Syed Najamul Hassan and Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed resumed hearing of the ephedrine case.

Arguing the pre-arrest bail plea of Makhdoom Shahab, his counsel Shah Khawar and Abdul Rashid Sheikh expressed lack of confidence in the CNS judge Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry when the court advised them to appear before the CNS court for obtaining the bail. They said that they could not trust the CNS judge as the army officers of Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) from the ranks of brigadier to colonel are the frequent visitors to his retiring room.

Advocate Sheikh claimed that the ANF officers even gave dictation to the court.

Advocate Shah Khawar in his arguments before the court criticized the ANF for making two accused, Dr Rashid Juma, former director general health and Rizwan Khan the director of Danas pharmaceutical, approver.

Both the accused pre arrest bail petitions had been dismissed by the CNS court, he added.

He said Makhdoom Shahab twice joined the investigation and after the court’s direction on July 30 the minister again appeared before the ANF investigation team.

He requested the court to separate his case from the other accused of the ephedrine scam.

Advocate Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, counsel for Ali Musa Gillani, told the court that the senior counsel Dr Khalid Ranjha was abroad for medical checkup.

He requested the court to fix the hearing of the pre-arrest bail application of his client after Eid but the court rejected the plea and extended the interim bail of Makhdoom Shahab and Musa Gillani till the next date of hearing on August 13.

Meanwhile, Zafar Bakhtawari, the owner of D. Watson chemist clarified that his brother Zahid Bakhtawari was the partner of PML-N MNA Mohammad Hanif Abbasi in Grey’s pharmaceutical company who also got 500 kg ephedrine during 2010.

The ANF on July 21 registered the FIR against Abbasi, Bakhtawari and other six pharmaceutical companies.

Zafar Bakhtawari said that he has no stakes in the pharmaceutical company owned by MNA Abbasi and his brother Zahid Bakhtawari.