IHC chief justice disposes of plea against Hanif Abbasi

• The plea was filed by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
• Sheikh Rasheed in his plea stated that Hanif Abbasi was convicted in ephedrine case
• Decision has been taken after resignation of Hanif Abbasi from the post of special assistant to PM.

ISLAMABAD: After the resignation of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi from the post of special assistant to prime minister, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday disposed of a petition seeking to set aside a notification for his appointment.

The plea was filed by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed challenging appointment of Hanif Abbasi as special assistant to prime minister (SAPM).

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition. During the hearing the court was informed that Abbasi had resigned from the post of SAPM and a copy of his resignation was produced before the court.

Read more: IHC stops Hanif Abbasi from working as SAPM till May 27

Sheikh Rasheed in his plea stated that Hanif Abbasi was convicted in ephedrine case in 2018 by the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Hanif Abbasi’s sentence was suspended in 2019 by the Lahore High Court.

Plea against his notification stated that although LHC had suspended the sentence but conviction was still intact that’s why he is not qualified for holding the office of SAPM.

Earlier, on May 9, the IHC asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to reconsider his decision of appointing Hanif Abbasi as SAPM.

A special court for control of narcotics substance (CNS) had awarded life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1 million to Abbasi days before the last general elections on July 21, 2018 in the ephedrine quota case.

The ANF had registered the case against Abbasi and others in 2012 under sections 9-C, 14 and 15 of the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Act for misuse of 500kg of ephedrine.

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