Ex-Pak PM Gillani’s son indicted in drug scandal
Islamabad, April 21: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s son was indicted by a court on Friday along with 10 others in the ephedrine drug scandal which had rocked the previous Pakistan Peoples Party-government in 2011.
The case revolves around two Pakistani pharmaceutical companies, Berlex and Danas, that allegedly used political connections to obtain huge amounts of ephedrine and are suspected of diverting it to people in the drug trade who could have used it to make meth worth billions of dollars. The companies have denied any wrongdoing, The Dawn reported.
Ali Musa Gillani and 10 others were indicted by a special anti-narcotics court in the scandal.
The accused include former health minister Makhdum Shahabuddin, health ministry official Abdul Sattar and Abdul Khaliq.
Despite those accused maintaining their innocence, the judge formally charged the high-profile suspects of culpability in the ephedrine scandal.
Ex-Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had pointed out in early 2012 that Ali Musa Gillani was also a suspect in the case.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) then issued a notice to him and one of his alleged “front-men” for manipulating the unauthorised allocation.
In June of the same year, just as President Asif Ali Zardari nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the PPP candidate for the Prime Minister after Yousaf Raza Gillani was removed by a court order, the ANF issued arrest warrants in his name. Consequently, Makhdoom Shahab could no longer be PPP’s prime ministerial candidate.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 12, in which the accused are expected to present their arguments. — PTI