Rawalpindi - The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench Justice Ibad ur Rehman Lodhi on Wednesday ordered the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court to hear the Ephedrine smuggling case on a daily basis from July 16 and asked the judge to wind up the case till July 21.
The judge of top court also snubbed the special public prosecutor of Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) over absence of Director General (DG) ANF in the court despite summoning. Justice also questioned the public prosecutor is DG giving favour to accused in Ephedrine smuggling case but not appearing before the court.
The Ephedrine smuggling case involves PML-N ex-MNA and candidate from NA-60 Muhammad Hanif Abbasi besides many others.
LHC Rawalpindi Bench Justice Ibad ur Rehman Lodhi issued these directions while taking up petition of a citizen named Shahid Orakzai.
It his petition, Shahid Orakzai told the LHC that the judge Sardar Muhammad Akram Khan of Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court for granting time to PML-N candidate from NA-60 Muhammad Hanif Abbasi for running his elections campaign despite the fact that he is facing charges of smuggling 500 kg of Ephedrine. He also challenged the CNS court verdict of postponement of hearing in Ephedrine smuggling case till August 20, 2018.
The petitioner accused the judge of supporting the election campaign of the candidate of PML-N.
On this, the LHC Rawalpindi Bench summoned DG ANF Maj Gen Nusrat Nawaz Malik, Assistant Director Legal Wasim Chattha, Hanif Abbasi and Special Public Prosecutor ANF Zahid Mahmood on Wednesday, however, DG ANF had not appeared before court while earning wrath of top judge. LHC Justice Ibad Ur Rehman Lodhi had directed the CNS Court judge to hear Ephedrine smuggling case on a daily basis from July 16 and lay down his verdict till July 21.