Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi has been sentenced to life in ephedrine quota case by an anti-narcotic court on Saturday.

Abbasi was taken into custody from the courtroom after the judge announced the verdict.

Meanwhile, Judge Sardar Akram Khan has discharged the other seven men involved in the case by giving them the benefit of doubt. Judge Muhammad Akram Khan had reserved judgment in ephedrine case against Abbasi.

The decision was reserved after his lawyer completed arguments in the court, where the accused was also present. The judge said that he would announce the judgment within the next three to four hours.

The judge on Friday rejected Abbasi’s request to extend the trial deadline in the case. The judge decided to strictly follow the orders of the apex court and high court to conclude the ephedrine case today (Saturday).

Hanif Abbasi was accused of stealing 500kg of the controlled chemical ephedrine, obtaining it in 2010, and selling it to narcotics smugglers.