Daily Times

Sir: Yesterday, a special anti-narcotics court gave Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Hanif Abassi a life sentence. He was charged with misusing 500 kg of ephedrine, a controlled substance which is a precursor to the illegal narcotic methamphetamine.

Pakistan faces many troubles because of high rates of drug addiction and because it’s position on the map puts it on the route for high level drug smugglers. However, yesterday’s verdict was quite strange. It was perhaps the first time in the country’s history that a verdict to such a high profile case was announced at 11 pm.

This, combined with the fact that Abbasi would have given tough competition to the PTI allied Sheikh Rasheed, has created more doubts about the neutrality of the upcoming general elections. Furthermore, why was Abbasi tried in a special anti-narcotics court? Is Pakistan’s judicial system too weak to deal with drug peddlers?

The purpose of a legal system is justice. It should not be exploited to engineer the democratic process. One criminal may have been made to face justice yesterday, but the country could suffer in the long run.

MURTAZA HASSAN

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, July 23^rd 2018.