Petitions seeking quashment of ANF, citizen’s FIRs dismissed

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking the quashment of a first information report (FIR) against six personnel of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and directed the petitioners to pursue their case in the relevant courts.

A two-member bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad heard the petition, which also rejected a petition filed by Ashna Gul for the cancellation of an FIR and ordered him to present his case in the appropriate court. The lawyer representing ANF and Amin Rehman Yousafzai, the lawyer for Ashna Gul, appeared in the court.

The ANF lawyer informed the court that the force had seized a large quantity of drugs during a raid, and the FIR was registered against Ashna Gul. However, he said that Ashna Gul claimed in his petition under Section 22-A that an attempt was made to kidnap him.

He pleaded that during the alleged kidnapping attempt he was to be implicated in a drug case, where a scuffle had also occurred between the local people and ANF personnel.

However, the ANF lawyer denied these claims, saying that Ashna Gul was wanted to ANF in various cases and had registered this FIR in a bid to quash the cases against him. He prayed the court cancellation of the FIR.

Ashna Gul’s lawyer argued that the FIR against his client was illegal and the court should order the relevant authorities for quashment of the same.

He pointed out that the ANF had frozen several properties of his client, but the properties in the cases where they were frozen had been granted bail. The ANF was collecting rent from their properties in University Town, which were worth millions.

He claimed that all the cases against his client were fabricated and had been filed to seize his property, which he had purchased from the late former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s son in University Town in 2014.

The ANF had frozen these properties under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2022 and was now collecting rent from them. The lawyer further alleged that ANF had raided his client’s house in an attempt to implicate him, but after finding nothing, they fled when local people gathered in Jamrud.

The incident led Ashna Gul to file a petition under Section 22-A, after which a case was registered against the ANF personnel. The lawyer argued that the accused ANF officers, including Inspector Jehanzeb, Mansoor, Qalb-e-Abbas, Saqibullah, Firoz Shah and Niaz Ali, were involved in the case. However, despite the court’s order, the ANF personnel did not appear in court.

He prayed the court to cancel the FIR against his client. After the arguments, the bench ruled that both parties should pursue their cases in the relevant courts for trial. The bench clarified that petitions for the cancellation of the FIRs of both the parties could not be entertained at this stage.