A judicial magistrate on Tuesday extended judicial remand of former provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and five other suspects till July 29 and directed the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) to submit chargesheet without further delay. Earlier, Rana Sana and five other suspects were brought to the district courts from jail under strict security arrangements and the lawyers affiliated to the PML-N kept raising their pro-party slogans as the court resumed proceedings.
Advocate Farhad Ali representing Rana Sana argued that the ANF failed to submit challan despite a clear direction issued by the court on last hearing. He complained that the ANF had also seized personal belongings of his client including medicines and medical reports. When asked about the case file, a jail official told the magistrate that he was assigned to produce the suspect before the court only. The magistrate, summoned the ANF officials as no one was present from the prosecution side.
After about two hours, ANF prosecutor appeared before the and stated that the case record lied with an special investigation team, which will be furnished soon. To a court's query, Sanaullah Khan said an investigation team had visited him in jail the other day. However, he claimed that neither he had been provided with the case details nor his formal statement had been recorded. The magistrate said the defence counsel could move an application if the prosecution failed to submit the challan.
Earlier, during a court break, the PML-N leader had an opportunity to have brief telephonic conversations with party president Shahbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz. He assured them of his commitment and determination to fight the case. Responding to the media queries, Rana said he believed in challenging the oppression instead of complaining about it. He said he stood by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and the party.
Rana Sanaullah further said it was a tyranny that a ruler, who himself was an addict, was implicating political rivals in false cases. He said the confession of the judge in the leaked video had made the whole trial of Nawaz Sharif controversial. Lashing out at the policies of Prime Minster Imran Khan, he said no country could progress under the prevailing situation.
"The government has brought the country on the verge of anarchism," he added. Rana said the police still carried the stigma of lodging a fake case of 'buffalo theft' against politicians at the behest of the rulers. The ANF had arrested Rana Sana on his way to Lahore from his native city Faisalabad and recovered 15-kg heroin from his vehicle on a tip.