Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench, on Wednesday, extended the interim bails of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Hanif Abbasi, former Director General Health Asad Hafeez and the owner of a pharmaceutical company till October 17. Hanif’s attorney, Sardar Ishaq, told the bench that records of the ephedrine quota allotment had already been submitted. He said that the case was being heard in the Supreme Court and therefore the High Court should wait for the verdict of the apex court. Legal Director of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Akhtar Abbas told the Rawalpindi bench that ANF was not responsible for the allotment of ephedrine quotas but it was responsible for conducting investigations if the quota was being used illicitly. He told the court that it was important to arrest Hanif for investigations and sought his physical remand for the same purpose. Abbas claimed that Hanif had submitted counterfeit documents. Justice Sagheer Ahmed showed his displeasure over the ANF officer’s claims and asked the officer to produce evidence for his claims. Investigation officer Imtiaz Shaikh told the court that all the distributors were contacted but no one had submitted proper records. Moreover, he said that one of Hanif’s distributors was investigated regarding the quota but he had failed to produce any records. During the hearing, Justice Sagheer passed critical remarks over the performance of the ANF prosecutor. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till October 17. The Supreme Court has extended the interim bail of the main accused including the Textile Industry Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Musa Gilani in the ephedrine case till October 11.
