Quoting a UN report on narcotics, a single bench of PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan observed that 85 percent narcotics were being produced in the war-ravaged Afghanistan and Pakistan, particularly in the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, being used as gateway for smuggling the narcotics to other parts of the world.

“In majority of the cases, women are used as carriers to dodge the law-enforcing agencies as the females aren’t searched due to local traditions,” he said.

The bench rejected bails to Firasat and Mazzia arrested by the Nowshera police on May 27, 2012 after recovery of narcotics from their possession. It said the offence of the women was non-bailable.

The petitioners’ lawyer submitted that the police didn’t recover the ‘charas’ from women, but from handbags. Furthermore, they also referred to the Women’s Protection Act and submitted that under this act they were entitled to be freed on bail.

The state lawyer, said lady police constables had recovered 15kgs ‘charas’ from the hand bag of Firasat, 8kgs from the handbag of Mazzia and 5kgs from that of Aneeta, the sister of Mazzia.

He informed that the additional sessions judge had granted bail to Aneeta as she was underage. He said the police had recovered huge quantity of narcotics from the petitioners’ possession.