Hanif Abbasi case adjourned

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Thursday adjourned hearing of a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi seeking suspension of his life sentence in ephedrine case and release on bail, till February 7, without any proceedings.The bench, headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, deferred the hearing due to non-appearance of Hanif Abbasi's counsel Azam Nazir Tarar. The bench was apprised that Azam Nazir Tarar was in Islamabad to attend cases before the Supreme Court. Abbasi pleaded for suspension of the sentence and release on bail until final decision of the appeal. Through his main appeal, Abbasi had requested the bench to set aside his conviction and order release as the trial court had failed to appreciate facts of the case. In July 2018, an anti-narcotics court had convicted Abbasi and sentenced to life in prison in the eight-year-old ephedrine quota case.Earlier, this case was fixed at Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench but the judges recused themselves from hearing the appeal. The LHC chief justice ordered to fix the matter at Principal Seat while accepting an application filed by Abbasi's counsel for this purpose.

from The News International - Lahore http://bit.ly/2FZzkNf