Almost six months on, Sana out on bail in drug case.

LAHORE -- The Lahore High Court on Tuesday granted post-arrest bail to opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Rana Sanaullah Khan in a drug case filed by the Anti-Narcotics Force.

Through a short order, Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad allowed the bail petition 'subject to furnishing two surety bonds of Rs1 million each'.

The court had reserved its verdict a day before after lawyers representing the petitioner and the ANF concluded their arguments on the bail petition.

The prosecution had questioned the maintainability of the bail plea, arguing that the offence was non-bailable and that the onus to prove innocence lay on the defence. It also asked the court to issue a directive for the conclusion of the trial within a month.

ANF chief says evidence against opposition MNA will be produced in court after indictment

While Mr Khan, also a member of the National Assembly, is likely to be released on Thursday (tomorrow) - due to the public holiday on account of Quaid-i-Azam's birth anniversary today - an ANF official told a private news channel that the LHC order would be challenged in the Supreme Court as it was not in the domain of a high court to grant bail in such cases.

The courtroom was packed with PML-N lawyers and workers when Justice Ahmad announced the decision at around 2:10pm.

Talking to media, Mr Khan's wife, who was also present in the courtroom, thanked Almighty Allah on the release of her husband and lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan for what she claimed implicating her husband in a false case.

'Who will be held accountable for the six months my husband has spent in jail,' she asked.

Later in the day in Islamabad, Major General Arif Malik, the ANF director general, blamed the lawyers of Mr Khan for using delaying tactics. He told reporters at a drug burning event that evidence could not be produced in court until the accused was indicted.

He said as soon as the accused was charged, the evidence against him would be presented in court.

On July 1, a special team of the ANF had arrested Rana near the Ravi toll plaza when he was heading to Lahore from his native city Faisalabad. It claimed to have recovered 15 kilogrammes of heroin from his vehicle and a 9mm pistol with 23 bullets.

The ANF had also arrested Rana's driver and his security guards. They were already released on bail, but charged with attacking the personnel and obstructing them from performing their official duty.

The PML-N leader was booked by the ANF under...