PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah Khan was arrested on Monday by the Anti Narcotics Force's (ANF) Lahore team while he was traveling from Faisalabad to Lahore, sources in the ANF confirmed to South Punjab News.The senior PML-N lawmaker was arrested from the Islamabad-Lahore motorway near the Sukheki area, the sources said. He was arrested and a case was being filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997, after a large stash of contraband was recovered from his vehicle.Sanaullah is set to be presented in a narcotics court tomorrow (Tuesday) for remand proceedings, Riaz Soomro, the spokesperson, noted, adding that he was arrested in light of numerous proofs.Investigation in this regard is ongoing and further details would be revealed soon, Soomro added.
Earlier, ANF officials had explained that a raiding party of their Lahore branch arrested the senior PML-N politician and that an investigation was underway.
At that time, they had declined to provide any further details but had mentioned that "our mandate is the fight against narcotics".
The officials had said they would issue a handout within an hour and give f
Earlier, ANF officials had explained that a raiding party of their Lahore branch arrested the senior PML-N politician and that an investigation was underway.
At that time, they had declined to provide any further details but had mentioned that "our mandate is the fight against narcotics".
The officials had said they would issue a handout within an hour and give further details of Sanaullah's arrest.The ANF has not officially specified the charges on which Sanaullah has been picked up, but spokesperson Riaz Soomro said drugs were recovered from Sanaullah's car. The quantity and type of drugs recovered is still being assessed, he said.
"We are having some difficulties getting information from ANF Lahore," he said. "ANF does not arrest any individual without due cause."
Force Commander Brig Khalid Mehmood is overseeing the investigation, the ANF spokesperson told South Punjab News. Sanaullah is being kept in ANF Police Station I, he added.
"ANF Headquarters Rawalpindi is in touch with ANF Lahore. A statement on the drugs recovered can only be issued after completion of due process," he said.
PML-N leader Attaullah Tarrar had earlier told reporters that he had contacted Sanullah today. According to him, the PML-N provincial president was about to leave the Sukheki area to attend a meeting in Lahore.
The former provincial law minister was appointed president of PML-N Punjab in May this year.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the arrest and said that Sanaullah was arrested without any allegation and case against him. He termed it the worst example of "lawlessness and political revenge".
Sharif alleged that it was another example of using state institutions against political opponents. He demanded of the government to produce Sanaullah before a court of law.
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz blamed Prime Minister Imran Khan for the arrest, accusing him of being "directly behind" the arrest.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto also took to Twitter to condemn the arrest of Sanaullah. He termed the arrest of the PML-N leader 'political victimisation'.
"Sanaullah has been a vociferous critic of the PPP in the past and is currently one of the most vocal critics of the regime."
He said that the arrest exposed the government's "weakness and desperation".
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