An arrest warrant without bail was issued against Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and a candidate for prime minister, over allegations that he smuggled drugs into the country.
A Pakistani judge issued the warrant for Shahabuddin’s arrest on Thursday for illegally importing ephedrine, a controlled substance. The move raised suspicions that it was politically motivated, reported The Express Tribune. Shahabuddin needs to appear in court within a week, the warrant stipulated.
The warrant was issued at around the same time that Shahabuddin filed his papers to be nominated for the election of the new prime minister and head of the national assembly, the Times of India reported.
However, Anti Narcotics Force investigator Abid Zulfiqar handed over a report stating that there was enough evidence and witness testimonial that Shahabuddin was involved in the ephedrine case, the Tribune reported. He also said Member of National Assembly Ali Musa Gilani, the son of recently ousted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was involved in the scheme to provide illegal quotas of chemicals to a laboratory in Multan.
Ali Gilani had to end his honeymoon in South Africa and return to Pakistan after he was accused by the Anti Narcotics Force, according to the Times.
