Key developments surrounding Hanif Abbasi’s conviction, bail

ISLAMABAD: Prominent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi walks out of jail after seven months and 18 days when he was convicted by a court, ousting him from the electoral race for NA-60 Rawalpindi, leaving the field clear for Sheikh Rashid in this constituency.

He was sentenced by Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Court Rawalpindi judge Sardar Muhammad Akram just three days before the polling for July 25, 2018 general elections after he was found guilty of selling 500kg ephedrine illegally.

During his incarceration, Abbasi got treatment for his multiple ailments, including heart problems, and had to undergo different procedures in hospitals. Abbasi’s ouster from the electoral arena happened a month after another PML-N candidate, Eng. Qamarul Islam (since bailed out), who was vying for another Rawalpindi seat, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Ghulam Sarwar Khan were his principal challengers.

A number of important developments led to Abbasi’s sentencing. One, on June 11, 2018, Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi bench, ordered the CNS court judge to hold day-to-day hearing from July 16 onwards and announce his verdict by July 21.

Two, a citizen filed objections to Abbasi’s candidature, but the returning officer and the appellate tribunal headed by Justice Lodhi had dismissed them. The petitioner held the view that he received information that the CNS court adjourned the trial till August 2 as Abbasi wanted to run his election campaign. Then, he moved the LHC with the request to direct the CNS court not to let Abbasi participate in the polls because being an accused the contestant should face the trial first.

Three, Abbasi appealed to the judge to extend the deadline for the judgment so that he can contest the election but the judicial officer told him that he was bound to pronounce his ruling by July 21 as directed by the LHC.

Four, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) had registered the case in June 2012 during the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government against nine suspects including Abbasi, Ali Musa, son of former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani, and the then federal health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin.

Five, the CNS court had acquitted all other accused, giving them the benefit of doubt, six years after the registration of the case.

Six, the ephedrine case surfaced in March 2011 when the then health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin told the National Assembly that the government would investigate the alleged allocation of 9,000kg of ephedrine to two pharmaceutical companies — Berlex Lab International and Danas Pharmaceutical Limited.

Seven, a review of the 69-page verdict of the CNSC court judge showed that the entire case against Abbasi hinged on a Google research by the judicial officer and a presumption that the accused illegally possessed the chemical which can be used to make narcotic substance Methamphetamine.

“Admittedly no definition of Ephedrine has been given in the Control of Narcotic Substances (CNS) Act 1997 and the same is not being mentioned as Psychotropic Substance in the schedule of CNS 1997,” said the court order.

It stated that eighty-five materials have been mentioned as Psychotropic Substances in the schedule of CNS 1997 but Ephedrine was not among them. The court relied on a Google article to prove that Ephedrine could be used to prepare “Metafetamine” or “Methamphetamine” which is mentioned at serial NO 47 of this list. “This court is not the chemist/expert and no chemical expert or chemist assisted this court in this respect, however this court has researched from Google while going at websitehttps://erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/meth.hi-rp.html according to which the matter of preparation of “Methamphetamine” the Ephedrine is given.”

The entire article dated 1990 was copy-pasted in the judgment.

The verdict said the Google “research” has made it clear that “Methamphetamine” cane be made using Ephedrine. “In this way this court has no hesitation to hold that although Ephedrine is not mentioned in the schedule of CNSA 1997 and the same has not been defined in the Section 2 of the CNSA 1997 (directly) but even then the same falls in the definition of controlled substance as defined in Section 2(k2) of Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997.”