Overturning trial court's verdict, LHC acquits PML-N's Hanif Abbasi in ephedrine case.

LAHORE -- The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday overturned trial court's life imprisonment verdict against PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi and acquitted him of Ephedrine Quota Case.

A division bench of the LHC comprising Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Asjad Javed Gural pronounced the verdict, which was reserved a day earlier.

Hanif Abbasi had challenged the trial court's decision of his life imprisonment after the prosecution successfully proved the allegations of smuggling and misuse of ephedrine qouta.

During the proceedings, the bench raised questions about the legality of the case and argued that the mere possession of ephedrine does not constitute guilt if it is not misused.

The law officer conceded that no allegations of smuggling could be substantiated against Abbasi. The petitioner's counsel argued that his client had been intentionally embroiled in a 'politically motivated' and fabricated case in 2018 by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), solely to humiliate him.

The Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court in Rawalpindi had sentenced Abbasi to life imprisonment. An appeal was filed against this decision, and in the meantime, the LHC suspended the implementation of the punishment, leading to Abbasi's release.

The petitioner's lawyer argued that the ephedrine quota had been allocated to 28 companies, and an investigation into the excessive issuance of the quota was initiated against his client. Additionally, allegations were made that Abbasi was involved in drug peddling.

The bench inquired whether any action had been taken against those who allocated the excessive quota, to which the petitioner's lawyer responded affirmatively.

Interestingly, only seven companies were named in the First Information Report (FIR), while the rest were absolved of any wrongdoing. However, the...