SHC dismisses appeal of former PIA employee in drugs case

The Sindh High Court has dismissed the appeal of a former employee of the Pakistan International Airlines against life imprisonment in a drugs case.

Sarfaraz Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment by the control of narcotics substances (CNS) court having found him guilty of possessing 12 kilograms of heroin. According to the prosecution, the appellant was arrested near the airport area on May 12, 2011 and heroin was found in his vehicel which he was going to deliver to an absconding co-accused.

The appellant’s counsel submitted that Ahmed was falsely implicated in the case and questioned the recovery of the drug in the absence of independent witnesses. He sought the release of the appellant by giving him the benefit of doubt.

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) prosecutor submitted that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellant as the chemical analysis report was found positive

and there was no enmity of the witnesses with the appellant.

A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agham, after hearing arguments of the counsel, observed that the appellant was arrested red handed and there was no delay in the registration of the FIR.

The court observed that there was no contradiction in the evidence of prosecution witnesses and the prosecution proved its case against the appellant without any reasonable doubt. The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the trial court order.

In another drugs case, the court dismissed the appeal of a convict. Shahid Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment by the CNS court for possessing 20 kilograms of charas.

He was arrested by the ANF police on November 28, 2014 from the Quaidabad area and charas was recovered from his rickshaw.

The court after hearing arguments of the appellant’s counsel observed that the prosecution had proved its case against Khan and the appeal was dismissed.