ANF arrests PML-N's Rana Sanaullah, claims large stash of contraband recovered
ANF confirms arrest of PML-N Punjab president and MNA Rana Sanaullah from near Sukheke area of Punjab province
July 01, 2019
LAHORE: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Monday arrested Rana Sanaullah, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) from near the Sukheke area in Punjab, officials of the anti-drug body confirmed to Geo News.
Sanaullah, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) and president of the PML-N's Punjab wing, was said to have been arrested in a drug-related case, with the ANF officials telling Geo News he was arrested while travelling with his guards to a meeting from Faisalabad to Lahore.
An ANF (Lahore) spokesperson confirmed that the PML-N's senior leader was arrested and a case was being filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997, after a large stash of contraband was recovered from his vehicle.
Sanaullah is set to be presented in a narcotics court tomorrow (Tuesday) for remand proceedings, Riaz Soomro, the spokesperson, noted, adding that he was arrested in light of numerous proofs.
Investigation in this regard is ongoing and further details would be revealed soon, Soomro added.
Earlier, ANF officials had explained that a raiding party of their Lahore branch arrested the senior PML-N politician and that an investigation was underway.
At that time, they had declined to provide any further details but had mentioned that "our mandate is the fight against narcotics".
The officials had said they would issue a handout within an hour and give further details of Sanaullah's arrest.
Opposition condemns arrest
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said Sanaullah's arrest was the worst example of lawlessness, and had exposed the "personal vendetta of PM Imran Khan".
"PM Imran has set an example of using national institutions against political opponents," he said.
PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz called the arrest "absurd" and accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of being "directly behind his arrest". She said the party loyalist was "arrested for his bold and courageous stance".
Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairperson of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), said the PML-N leader's arrest was a "desperate attempt at political victimisation".
"Sanaullah has been a vociferous critic of PPP in the past & is currently one of the most vocal critics of the regime. Arrests expose govts weakness & desperation," he said in his message on Twitter.
