Rawalpindi - Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has started collecting details of bank accounts and other assets of PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi and his family members, sources informed The Nation on Thursday.
According to sources, ANF issued a letter to Hanif Abbasi on August 10, seeking the details of bank accounts, names of companies, assets, liabilities, investments, transactions made to investment companies, serial number of all cheque books, history of foreign remittances and CNICs used for operating different bank accounts.
Sources added that in the circular issued by ANF under Section 6 (4) of Control of Narcotics Substance Act 1997, ANF have sought asset details of Hanif Abbasi, Mehnaz Abbasi, his wife, Areeba Abbasi and Zoha Khalil Abbasi, his daughters, Hamas Ullah Abbasi, his son, and Muhammad Basit Abbasi, his brother.
ANF authorities have started an inquiry into the assets of Hanif Abbasi and his family members after he was accused of selling 500kg Ephedrine to narcotics smugglers in a case registered on July 21, 2012. They said if ANF succeeded in ascertaining that narcotics money was used to obtain the assets, the assets could be frozen and confiscated under narcotics laws. It was in October 2014 that an ANF court in Rawalpindi indicted Hanif Abbasi and seven other accused in the case and started a formal trial. Currently the court was recording statements of prosecution witnesses.
On the other hand, Muhammad Hanif Abbasi approached Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench against the ANF for issuing him the letter. However, the court so far did not issue the schedule for hearing of the petition.
