LAHORE
\nInterior Minister Rana Sanaullah Saturday has been acquitted by a special court in Lahore in a drugs smuggling case filed against him in 2019.
\nSanaullah was arrested on July 01, 2019, by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Lahore team near Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway. He was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore.
\nThe ANF claimed to have recovered 15kg of heroin from his vehicle, while it arrested five others, including Sanaullah\u2019s driver and security guards.
\nHe was sent on judicial remand the next day by the court.
\nSanaullah remained incarcerated for six months until the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted him bail on December 24, 2019.
\nThe then PTI government drew heavy fire from the opposition and was alleged of carrying out a political witch-hunt against rivals. The Imran Khan-led regime, however, denied having a hand in Sanaullah\u2019s arrest.
\nThe PML-N leader had filed a plea in the court seeking acquittal today and sought an early hearing. The court then fixed the hearing for 2pm.
\nAt the outset of the hearing, Prosecutor Danish Mashkoor informed the court that he has resigned and was no more associated with the case. \u201cI can not sign off witnesses\u2019 statement.\u201d
\nAfter this, the remaining two prosecutors signed the document.
\nRana Sanaullah\u2019s counsel, Advocate Farhad Shah, argued before the court that two witnesses in the case have retracted their statements. \u201cThey were witnesses of the recovery memo,\u201d the defence informed the court and added, \u201cThe prosecution has no case to prove\u201d.
\nThe court then announced the verdict acquitting Rana Sanaullah and other co-accused Sibtain, Usman, Amir, and Akram from the drugs smuggling case.
\nIn response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said of all the PML-N leaders targeted by the Khan-led regime, Sanaullah\u2019s case was the \u201cworst example\u201d of political persecution with the most dangerous repercussions.
\n\u201cHe braved these heinous charges and repression with patience and remained steadfast. He is an inspiration for all political workers.\u201d
\nWitnesses retract statements
\nInspector Ehsan Azam, a witness in the case, said: \u201che has no knowledge of the events nor was the recovery made in his presence\u201d.
\n\u201cI did not witness recovery. I was made a witness but I don\u2019t know the facts neither I support the prosecution\u2019s case in any way.\u201d
\nAnother witness, Assistant Director Imtiaz Ahmed, told the court that he was not aware of Rana Sanaullah\u2019s case and drugs were not recovered in his presence.
\n\u201cI was made a witness in the case; I do not support the prosecution\u2019s case. I did not see any recovery of drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Saturday has been acquitted by a special court in Lahore in a drugs smuggling case filed against him in 2019. Sanaullah was arrested on July 01, 2019, by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Lahore team near Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway. He was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore. The ANF […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n