ANF case: Rana Sanaullah skips hearing; indictment put off to July 23

LAHORE: Charges against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah could not be framed on Saturday as he skipped the hearing and indictment in a drug trafficking case.

The interior minister is facing a 15kg heroin trafficking case, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment or a jail term that may extend to 14 years along with a fine up to Rs1 million. On the previous hearing, the special court for the control of narcotic substances had fixed June 25 for framing charges against him and others in the case which has been pending for three years.

However, Rana Sanaullah didn’t appear before the court on Saturday. An application was submitted before the court on his behalf seeking one-time exemption from personal appearance due to his engagements in the National Assembly. The court accepted the plea and adjourned the hearing until July 23.

However, other nominated accused in the case, Muhammad Akram, Sibtain Haider, Usman Ahmed, Asim Rustam and Umar Farooq, appeared before the court and marked their attendance. The court has fixed a date to frame charges against the minister many times but he dodged it on one pretext or the other.

Rana Sanaullah had been arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in 2019. The ANF had claimed recovering 15kg heroin from his possession.