Provincial anti-narcotics law challenged in high court.

PESHAWAR -- A resident has moved the Peshawar High Court against the enactment of a special anti-narcotics law by the provincial government insisting that in the presence of the federal government's Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997, a provincial law on the subject couldn't be enacted.

Asmatullah of Peshawar filed the petition requesting the court to declare that the KP Control of Narcotics Substance Act (KPCNSA), 2019, is unconstitutional, illegal, without jurisdiction and against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

He sought as an interim relief the suspension of the operation of the law until the final disposal of the petition.

Respondents in the petition are the provincial government through the chief secretary, provincial secretaries of the law and establishment departments, federal law secretary, and the provincial assembly's secretary.

Petitioner insists federal law on matter exists, so KP's is against constitution

The KPCNSA was passed by the provincial assembly on Aug 27 and received the governor's assent on Sept 2.

While passing the law, the government had claimed that it had incorporated specific provisions for checking the growing use of Ice drug in the province.

The petitioner's lawyer, Noor Alam Khan, is an expert on narcotics laws.

The petitioner said the federal government had enacted a comprehensive law called Control of Narcotics Substance Act (CNSA), 1997, and had provided therein special provisions for curbing the menace of narcotics.

He said the onus to prove the guilt of accused had not been placed entirely on the prosecution rather on the accused to prove his innocence as well.

The petitioner said the CNSA, 1997, was a very rigid special law wherein extreme punishment of death or imprisonment for life had been provided.

He added that the provision of bail had been ousted by...