Justice Isa assails ANF in ‘drugs recovery’ case hearing

ISLAMABAD: Casting doubt on the conduct of Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), the Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted the bail plea of an accused Adnan Khan allegedly involved in the marijuana smuggling case, questioning that what if hashish was taken out of a judge’s car.

A two-member SC bench comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah heard the case. The ANF had registered a case against accused Adnan Khan at the Attock Police Station.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Azmat Ali Shah, counsel for the accused, said that his client was only sitting on the backseat of the bike and the owner was riding himself.

The court expressed annoyance over the ANF and asked whether the Force had any prior information regarding transportation of hashish on bikes. The ANF prosecutor said that on seeing a bike without a number plate, it was stopped and hashish was recovered.

Upon this, Justice Qazi Faez Isa said that stopping vehicles without number plates was the job of the police, not the ANF. He said that there would be thousands of vehicles without number plates in the city, would the ANF search them all? He observed that the ANF had made itself suspect due to its behaviour in important cases.

The ANF tarnished its reputation for other purposes and questions were being raised as to why the reputation of the ANF was tarnished, he added. He asked what if hashish was taken out of a judge’s car tomorrow? Addressing the prosecutor, he said that hashish could also be recovered from his vehicle.

ANF did not take any action on places where drugs were being sold, he added. He asked how could ANF stop a vehicle without information?

Justice Qazi Faez Isa asked could three kilograms of hashish fit under the bike seat? Justice Qazi Faez said that ANF officials should not be taught law by the Supreme Court and the Force at least read its own law. “If there was a quarrel with the neighbour, the ANF

would put drugs on him too,” he added. Justice Mansoor said that the law was clear, there would be information, then opinions and then actions.