ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, the Lahore High Court acquitted Hanif Abbasi, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, of all charges in the ephedrine quota case.
The verdict was delivered by a two-member bench, with Justice Aalia Naeem and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural announcing the decision.
In July 2018, Abbasi had been sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined Rs1 million after the trial court found him guilty of illegally selling 500kg of ephedrine to narcotics smugglers. Notably, this verdict had been issued just four days before the general election in 2018.
However, in April 2019, the Lahore High Court had suspended his sentence, effectively overturning his conviction. Abbasi had faced accusations of procuring 500 kg of ephedrine for his company, Gray Pharmaceutical, in 2010, but it was alleged that he had sold it to narcotics smugglers instead.
IHC Issues Notice To NAB On Nawaz Sharif’s Petition Seeking A Protective Bail Plea In Al-Azizia And Avenfield References
Meanwhile, during the bail plea hearing, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued the notice to the NAB. The Bureau initiated references against the former Prime Minister.
Amjad Pervez, the lawyer representing PML-N’s chief, appealed to the IHC bench for the grant of protective bail, as Nawaz Sharif intends to surrender before the court.
Nawaz Sharif was declared a proclaimed offender by the IHC in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases due to non-compliance after he traveled to London for medical treatment with the court’s approval in November 2019.
