Rana Sanaullah lashes out at govt, says courts being stopped from dispensing justice

LAHORE: Former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah claimed on Saurday that courts were being stopped from providing justice to opposition leaders, alleging that the government had resorted to "politics of vendetta".

"Courts are being stopped from dispensing justice in this whole process of opposition leaders' victimisation," said the PML-N stalwart, speaking to media. 

Sanaullah could not be indicted in the drugs smuggling case today as the judge who was supposed to conduct the hearing was on leave. The PML-N leader said that families of judges who hear cases against opposition parties are being monitored.

"[As you know] judges are also changed through WhatsApp [messages]," he said.

Further criticising the accountability process in the country, Sanaullah said that everyone "from the chairman NAB to his assistant are being held hostage and are being blackmailed".

"Even the questions they ask are handed to them from somewhere else," he said. "By creating this environment of fear in the country, we are pushing it towards anarchy and chaos," he added.

The PML-N leader said that the law and order situation in the country was had become a "total failure".

Sanaullah criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan over his earlier remarks on dual nationals, when he said that they should not be allowed to become members of the parliament.

He accused the prime minister of following double standards when it came to his own advisers and assistants who were dual nationals, adding that the entire nation was witnessing how the government was focused on the politics of vendetta.

Drug possession charge

Sanaullah was arrested by Anti-Narcotics Force officials on July 1 of last year from Faisalabad while he was on his way to a meeting. ANF had claimed that the former Punjab law minister was in possession of 15 kilogrammes of heroin when he was arrested.

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.

Sanuallah had subsequently filed a bail petition against the charges which were later dismissed by the special court for the Control of Narcotics Substances.

The petition had pleaded that the case against Sanaullah was "politically motivated and based on mala fide intentions". It had argued that the alleged recovery of narcotics from Sanaullah had merely been an 'eyewash'.

The petition had said that the prosecution had failed to present any independent witnesses of the alleged recovery from Sanaullah. It had said that the video evidence presented before the trial court had been contradictory to the incidents narrated in the first information report (FIR).

Following that petition, Sanaullah had again approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) on November 20 seeking release on bail.

Finally, on December 24, the LHC had granted bail to Sanaullah in the narcotics possession case against two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each.