Tag: Rana Sanaullah

  • Rana Sanaullah case: ‘Political victimisation an open secret,’ court says

    Rana Sanaullah case: ‘Political victimisation an open secret,’ court says

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued its detailed verdict on the bail granted to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah in the drug trafficking case against him, saying that “political victimisation in the country is an open secret”.

    Opposition parties have been accusing the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of cracking down on opposition leaders in what they call is “selective accountability”, alleging that members of the PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are arrested “only because the government cannot tolerate dissent”.

    Among other opposition leaders’ arrests, Sanaullah’s detention in the case against him was also termed as “political victimisation” by opposition parties as they accused the government of being unable to take criticism.

    The nine-page judgement issued Thursday was authored by Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad of the LHC, and gave some weight to the “political victimsation” argument made by the petitioner.

    “In the context of the petitioner being a vocal political leader of [the main] opposition party, this aspect of the case could not be ignored as political victimisation in our country is an open secret,” the court said.

    It questioned in its judgement as to why the former provincial minister’s physical remand had not been sought by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to investigate the allegations against him, and why were the formal documentary proceedings of the seizure of narcotics not conducted at the time of arrest.

    “Why a sample of only 20 grams of the heroin recovered was sent for testing when the seized quantity was as high as 15 kilogrammes,” the court questioned.

    In the judgement, it was reasoned that from the facts of the case, there needed to be further investigation of the charges against Sanaullah. However, since “the co-accused in the case were granted bail by a trial court, and their bail was not challenged by the prosecution in the high court”, it would be unfair to not allow Sanaullah the same recourse.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Shehryar Afridi reveals how he felt when Rana Sanaullah was arrested

    Minister of State for Safron & Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi in an exclusive interview with The Current in August shared how he felt when PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah was arrested for possessing drugs.

    “The most important for me are families who suffer because of this [drugs] menace,” said Afridi. “Positions and stature do not count. No one is above the law.”

    “No matter what position one is on, if found involved in such activities, they’ll be made an example [out of],” he asserted.

    When asked the one thing he liked about Rana Sanaullah, the minister responded, “I think his commitement to his party, which one should have.”

    Watch the complete interview and the place where Rana Sanaullah was first kept when arrested in this video:

    On July 1, Rana Sanaullah was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) after the discovery of a large stash of drugs in his vehicle from near the Sukheke area in Punjab. The former law minister was arrested while travelling with his guards to a meeting from Faisalabad to Lahore.

    The case against him was filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997.

    He was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday due to lack of evidence. The LHC directed Sanaullah to submit two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each to secure his bail.

  • Rana Sanaullah case: Afridi says he has ‘footage, not video’

    State Minister for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi on Wednesday said that following the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah, he had “used the word footage in his press conferences and not video”.

    The minister’s implication that there is a difference between “video” and “footage” came as he addressed a press conference following brutal trolling by people over his tall claims regarding evidence in the case against the PML-N leader who was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday.

    Earlier, the minister had repeatedly defended the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) by claiming to have “pictures and video record” of Sanaullah’s arrest during which drugs were recovered from his vehicle. He had also said that the PML-N leader’s car “was monitored for three weeks before he was arrested”.

    Speaking to journalists a day after the PML-N lawmaker’s bail, Afridi said there was a lot of talk in the media about video evidence, and clarified that he had “always used the word footage and not video”.

    The minister also alleged that Sanaullah’s legal team was adopting delaying tactics in the drugs trafficking case and defended the decision to book the PML-N leader.

    “After the bail a perception was created in the media that Rana Sanaullah was innocent,” he said, adding that the PML-N MPA had only been granted relief and not been acquitted by the court.

    “This is a season of bails,” commented the minister, insisting that the ANF was a professional force.

    Afridi also clarified that he did not speak about the issue earlier as he was out of the country.

  • LHC grants bail to Rana Sanaullah in narcotics case

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted bail to former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah in a narcotics case lodged after Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) allegedly recovered drugs from his vehicle, Dunya News reported.

    According to the details, LHC has directed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader to submit two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each.

    Rana Sanaullah on November 20 had submitted a bail plea in LHC for second time, stating that he was arrested in a false case of drugs smuggling as he used to criticize the government.

    He adopted a stance that he was earlier booked for smuggling of 21 kilograms heroin in the FIR [First Information Report], while later the weight of the captured contraband was declared 15 kilograms.

    Rana had also submitted a bail petition on November 10, which stated that the prosecution had failed to present any independent witness of the alleged recovery of the drugs, adding that the video evidence presented before the trial court was contradictory to the story narrated in the FIR.

    An anti-narcotics court had on December 11 extended judicial remand of Sanaullah till January 4, 2020, in the heroin smuggling case.

    On July 1, he was arrested by the ANF after the discovery of a large stash of drugs in his vehicle from near the Sukheke area in Punjab. The former law minister was arrested while travelling with his guards to a meeting from Faisalabad to Lahore.

    The case against him was filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997.

  • Rana Sanaullah case: Shehryar Afridi backtracks on video claims

    Minister for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi has backtracked on his claims of having a video of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah’s arrest and the contraband recovered from his vehicle.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Afridi said that a team of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) followed Sanaullah for three weeks and “were not making a movie [that they’d have a video] when they arrested Rana Sanaullah”.

    The statement comes as a shock to many since the minister had earlier claimed that ANF had sufficient evidence against the PML-N lawmaker.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    But when asked about the video of the arrest, Afridi replied, “We have presented all the evidence and relevant details in the court”.

    The blunder isn’t the first of its kind, as previously, in a challan submitted before the court, ANF had claimed Sanaullah’s confession to involvement in drug smuggling.

    “I have been associated with drugs/narcotics smuggling for years. My expenditures swelled up soon after I entered into politics, but my income was not much. I developed links with drug smugglers after entering into politics, particularly after becoming Law Minister in the Punjab cabinet,” the PML-N leader was quoted as saying by the ANF.

    However, Sanaullah had denied all claims saying that he had not given any statement of confession to the ANF.

    “They took me to jail after arrest and not a single person spoke to me,” he had said.

  • VIDEO: Rana Sanaullah challenges PM Imran to a ‘drug test’ in court

    VIDEO: Rana Sanaullah challenges PM Imran to a ‘drug test’ in court

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA and former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah has challenged Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to a “drug test”.

    “Sentence me without a trial if even nicotine traces are found in my blood,” the PML-N leader, who was arrested for possession of drugs earlier this month, said while appearing before an anti-narcotics court.

    “But also test this incompetent PM and sentence me without trial if you do not find [traces of] cocaine, ice (crystal meth), hashish and heroin,” Sanaullah added.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    He went on to say that the “victimisation of political opponents” by the ruling party would not continue for long.

    Sanaullah is in judicial custody till July 29 in a drug possession case. The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) claims to have seized 15 kilogrammes of heroin from his car upon arrest over two weeks ago.

    The PML-N leader, on the other hand, denies the charge while his wife suggests the drugs “were planted in the vehicle”.

  • ‘Drugs likely planted in Rana Sanaullah’s car’

    ‘Drugs likely planted in Rana Sanaullah’s car’

    Members of Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control have doubted the government’s version that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Rana Sanaullah had 15 kilograms of drugs worth Rs220 million in his car, Dawn reported.

    Sanaullah was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) earlier this month after the stash was discovered in his vehicle while travelling via the Faisalabad-Lahore Motorway.

    Protesting against the apprehension, members of opposition parties condemned the episode as they argued that the MNA was arrested without any allegation and case against him. They termed it the “worst example of lawlessness and political revenge”.

    “There is a general scare that anyone can plant drugs in anyone’s car. The matter has been hushed up. We want to know exact details of the case of Rana Sanaullah’s arrest,” said PML-N Senator Saleem Zia, who raised the issue during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control on Friday.

    “Why would a politician and a former law minister be carrying drugs with him and that too in such huge quantities?” Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Anwar Lal Dean asked senior officials from the Narcotics Ministry and the ANF.

    While the senators implied that the drugs were planted in Sanaullah’s car, ANF Director General (DG) Major General Mohammad Arif Malik urged them to not make assumptions.

    “The minister for narcotics has already given a briefing on the matter. It would be unreasonable to assume that drugs were planted on him [Sanaullah]. Members should either come forward with proof that he was framed or believe the version of the ANF that drugs were recovered from him,” he was quoted as saying.

  • ‘Sleeping on floor with just one sheet’; how Rana Sanaullah spent his first night in jail

    ‘Sleeping on floor with just one sheet’; how Rana Sanaullah spent his first night in jail

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and MNA Rana Sanaullah, who was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Monday, spent his first night in jail sleeping on the floor, a private media outlet has reported.

    Rana was taken into custody by the ANF while on his way to Faisalabad for a party meeting. Being intercepted on the motorway by an ANF team in Sukheki, he was detained for allegedly possessing a huge stash of heroin.

    With an anti-narcotics court sending the PML-N leader and other accused to prison on a 14-day judicial remand Tuesday, a news outlet has revealed how Sanaullah’s first night in jail went.

    According to reports, the lawmaker spent the night sleeping on the floor of Barrack No. 6 at Lahore’s Camp Jail, where he was provided with just a single sheet to sleep on.

    The PML-N leader was shifted to his cell after jail authorities emptied all neighbouring barracks, while the five other accused were kept in the old block of the prison.

    Sanaullah was arrested days after a large-scale crackdown on drug peddlers in Punjab was launched. Latest reports claim the MNA would be given B-class facilities in jail.

    Jail officials say B-class facilities include a newspaper, television, bed, table and chair, besides some other items.

  • Imran Khan spies on us using robot rats: PPP leader

    Imran Khan spies on us using robot rats: PPP leader

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nabil Gabol has claimed that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan keeps an eye on members of the opposition using “robot rats” in the parliament lodges.

    Speaking to a private media outlet earlier this week, he said that the premier has released these robots to monitor the opposition’s activities.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “I have been informed by the National Assembly secretary that Imran Khan has released these robot rats with the help of the Intelligence Bureau (IB),” he claimed, adding that the rats later report to PM Imran.

    Gabol further claimed that a couple of these robot rats have also been deployed in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah’s room.