Action sought against ex-chief of ANF in Rana drugs case
i SL AM Ab AD : The Public Accounts Commitee (PAC) of the National Assembly has decided to seek action against the former Anti-narcotics Force (ANF) head for ‘implicating’ Rana Sanaullah (now interior minister) in a drugs’ case.
The PAC, which is an oversight body on the use of government’s funds, also sought a report from the Ministry of Narcotics Control about the case made against the interior minister.
PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan warned that the commitee would write to Army Chief General Asim Munir for action against former ANF Director General Maj Gen [now retired] Arif Malik if the report found the case to be fabricated. He added the commitee would seek action even if the officer retired from the service.
PAC member Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that in a civilised country, if a uniformed officer was found to be lying and misleading people, he would be court-martialed. He termed the case false, concocted and politically motivated. He said the allegations levelled against Mr Sanaullah were found to be false during the trial.
The commitee noted that Rana Sanaullah was ‘wrongly implicated’ in the case. Narcotics Division Secretary Humaira Ahmed told the PAC that the case was registered on the basis of certain information and requested to defer the mater till the next date to give her time to respond.
The PAC directed the ministry to submit a report on the case and whether any action was against the officers responsible for ‘implicating’ a lawmaker.
Sanaullah, who was then in opposition, was arrested in July 2019 by the ANF while he was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore.
Later, the then interior minister Sheharyar Khan Afridi and Maj Gen Malik said the PMLN leader had 15kg heroin in his possession. In December 2022, a special court in Lahore acquited Sanaullah and five other accused in this case.
According to local media, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday let for London on a “private visit” from the Islamabad International Airport.