Ephedrine quota case: ANF moves SC against Hanif Abbasi’s acquittal

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the acquittal of PMLN leader Muhammad Hanif Abbasi in the ephedrine quota case.

The ANF filed the appeal through its Regional Director Force Commander, Rawalpindi, seeking leave to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the judgment issued by the Lahore High Court on October 18, 2023.

However, the ANF sought additional time from the registrar’s office to prepare the case and gather relevant documents. The office granted an additional 14 days to file the appeal.

On October 18, 2023, a two-member bench of the Lahore High Court, comprising Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural, had acquitted Hanif Abbasi of charges related to the alleged misuse of the ephedrine quota.

Abbasi had challenged his conviction before the LHC. The court had also declared his life sentence, which was imposed by a special court of narcotics control on July 21, 2018, just days before the last general elections, null and void.

Abbasi was awarded a life sentence by a special court for the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) along with a fine of Rs1 million a few days before the 2018 polls.

As a result, he was disqualified from the contest against Sheikh Rashid Ahmad of the Awami Muslim League from NA-60, Rawalpindi.

The case against him and the other co-accused was registered by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in 2012 under Sections 9-C, 14, and 15 of the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Act for the misuse of 500kg ephedrine.