ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday has rejected a petition by PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi. The petition was drafted against a high court order which called for the conclusion of the ephedrine case against Abbasi by July 21.
Murtaza pleaded in front of the SC bench that the high court cannot change the original date of the trial. However, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan stated that under Article 203 of the constitution the high court did indeed have the authority to change the date of a trial and thereby Abbasi’s petition was dismissed.
A two-member bench presided over the case while Abbasi’s lawyer Kamran Murtaza elaborated that the case against his client is set to start on August 2 in a trial court. On the other hand, petitioner Shahid Orakzai requested the bench for fast-paced trial from July 16th to July 21st.
The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench ordered that the trial against Abbasi be concluded by July 21.
Abbasi is PML-N’s candidate for NA-60 and he is charged with the illegal sale of 500 kg of ephedrine which he collected from his company, Gray Pharmaceuticals.
