LHC issues detailed verdict on Rana Sanaullah case

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 a drug trafficking case.

The nine-page judgment was authored by LHC’s Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad.

The court questioned in its judgement why, even though the former provincial minister was accused of operating a narcotics trafficking network, the Anti Narcotics Force never sought his physical remand to investigate that allegation.

The court further questioned why formal documentary proceedings of the seizure of narcotics were not conducted at the time of arrest, and why a sample of only 20 grams of the heroin recovered was sent for testing when the seized quantity was a much higher 15 kilogrammes. 

The judgement also 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 victimization in our country is an open secret,” the order stated.

The court 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.

It subsequently approved the former Punjab law minister’s bail against two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each.

Also read: LHC grants bail to Rana Sanaullah in narcotics case

It is expected that the former Punjab law minister will be released today after he submits the bonds to the court.

Bail 'unique precedent', says govt

On July 1, the Anti-Narcotics Force had arrested Sanaullah while he was heading for a meeting from Faisalabad to Lahore.

A case was filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997 after a large stash of contraband was allegedly recovered from his vehicle.

The government had termed the LHC decision to grant bail to Sanaullah a “unique precedent”. 

Special Assistant to the PM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, while talking to journalists on Tuesday, had stated that all evidence will be presented before the court.

Minister for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi, in a press conference on Wednesday, had said bail "does not mean Sanaullah is acquitted". He claimed to have received threats while pursuing the case.