RAWALPINDI - The former Director Danas Pharmaceutical Company Rizwan Khan, now the approver in ephedrine quota allocation scam, appeared before the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Court Friday and recorded his statement in the case.
CNS Special Judge Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry recorded the statement of the approver in chemical Ephedrine case. The court also declared Rizwan Khan an approver against the other accused including Syed Ali Musa Gilani, an MNA from Multan and son of former premier Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani, Federal Minister for Textile Industries and former Health Minister Makhdoom Shihabuddin, Former Secretary Health Khushnud Akhter Lashari in ephedrine smuggling case. Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Joint Director Legal Col (Retd) Bashir, Special Public Prosecutor Waseem Ahmed Qureshi and some other officials of the probing force were also present on the occasion. The ANF did not produce Dr Rasheed Juma, another approver in the chemical smuggling case, before the court for recording his statement despite clear instructions of the judge.
Rizwan Khan, a partner of Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar, owner of Berlex Company, and Ansar Farooq, Chief Executive of Danas Pharmaceutical, have recorded their statement based on 4-page before the CNS Court.
In his statement, he claimed that quotas of 2500-kg and 6500-kg were allotted to Danas Pharmaceutical Company and Berlex Ltd, respectively, through Anjum Shah, the front man of former Federal Minister for Health Makhdoom Shihabuddin. For the purpose, he was paid a handsome amount of Rs 6 million, he added.
The approver added that PPP-led government appointed Zafar Abbas Lakh as Federal Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control to hush up the case of allocation of illegal quota of the chemical ephedrine and later its smuggling to Iran as well as to save the skin of the near and dear ones of PPP stalwarts.
Former director Danas Pharma Rizwan Khan on February 14, 2012 said Zafar Abbas Lakh in his capacity of Secretary Narcotics Control had declared the allocation of huge of ephedrine for export purpose and later its conversion for local consumption as the matter falling under the Drug Act and sought the opinion of Secretary Law on the issue. The approver added that the conversion of 9000-kg ephedrine a controlled chemical into local consumption was made possible through the then Federal Health Minister Makhdoom Shihabuddin, Syed Ali Musa Gilani and his front man Tauqeer Khan.
Rizwan mentioned that all chemical, got from Islamabad in 2010, was smuggled by Iftikhar Khan in collaboration with two international smugglers Kaka Khan and Aziz Mehmood Hussaini to Iran via Taftan from Quetta. According to him, the total of cost of smuggled ephedrine in international market was Rs 7 billion. He added that Ansar Farooq and Tahir-ul-Wadood Lahoti, the co-owners of Danas Pharmaceutical opened a joint account in Bank Al-Falah I-8 Islamabad Branch to receive the money earned through smuggling.
He apprised the judge that Ibrahim Muhamamd Ikhlas along with Haji Siddiq and Haji Dilawar were also involved in smuggling the ephedrine under the garb of export of rice. They had their offices at Dalbadin, Quetta and Karachi.
“These men have been smuggling ephedrine on large scale using different names to the controlled chemical such as Thoroa, Tarkha and Hassar” the approver mentioned in his statement.
The approver also said that a total of Rs 6 million were doled out among different health officials and former Director Generals of Ministry of Health Dr Raheed Jumma and Asad Hafeez, who had issued the allocation and conversion of the quota of ephedrine.  While blasting Syed Ali Musa Gilani, Rizwan Khan stated that some persons had also got favours from different ministers through Ali Musa Gilani and his front man Tauqeer Khan such as in the fields of medicine, getting permits for tinted vehicle glasses from Ministry of Interior and arm licenses. In the affidavit, Rizwan also claimed that Tahir Lahoti in 2011 once again tried to obtain 1000 kg Ephedrine but then DG Health Asad Hafeez refused to give him the chemical.
However, Syed Ali Musa Gilani pressed DG to allocate the quota to Tahir Lahoti. DG moved the application to the then Secretary Health Nargis Sethi but she also thrown the application into dustbin saying: “She is asked to do an illegal work,” Rizwan stated in his statement. He added that DG Hafeez also faced a strong opposition from his subordinates in this regard.