Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court Judge Irum Niazi adjourned Ephedrine Quota Case till November 16.
On Thursday when the case was taken up, a CNS court judge found that indicted men former federal minister Makhdoom Shahaduddin and Iftikhar Babar did not appear before the court.
The bench expressed annoyance over non-appearance of the accused and remarked that why should not the court send absentees to the jail to make sure their presence.
Counsel of the prosecution pleaded the court to issue arrest warrants of the accused however the bench rejected plea and directed respondents to make sure their presence on next date of hearing. However, Musa Gilani son of former prime minister Yusaf Raza Gilani and five witnesses of the prosecution appeared before the bench in compliance with earlier court orders.
Earlier, Gilani filed an application in the court seeking restoration of his bank account which the court had ordered to freeze on September 13. Shahab-ud-Din’s counsel Naeem Bukhari claimed that the action against his client was driven by political revenge because the petitioner did not mention his client’s name in the first three challans and had only added his name in the fourth challan on the basis of suspicion.
Meanwhile, the statements that were recorded before the court also kept changing, he added. Ali Musa Gilani, the younger son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and 10 other accused were formally indicted in Ephedrine Quota Case in April, 2017.