Drug Trafficking Suspect Surrenders in Supreme Court Over Fear of CTD Encounter
Islamabad – In a dramatic turn of events, a narcotics trafficking suspect surrendered to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) inside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, fearing an alleged staged encounter by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).
The accused, identified as Fayyaz alias Bhola, was facing trial for allegedly smuggling 10 kilograms of narcotics and possessing a drone. During the hearing of his bail plea, his lawyer, Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu, informed the court that his client wished to surrender immediately due to fears that CTD would stage his extrajudicial killing.
“CTD has practically been given a license to conduct encounters in Punjab. People are being killed one after another,” the defense counsel argued, urging the court to officially record his client’s voluntary arrest.
The prosecutor maintained that ANF is an independent force, while Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi remarked that narcotics and a drone had been recovered from the suspect. After his bail plea was rejected, the accused withdrew his application and surrendered to ANF officials in the courtroom. The Supreme Court recorded the arrest in its official order.
Fayyaz was originally booked in August 2023 in Lahore on drug trafficking charges. His pre-arrest bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court before the dramatic surrender.
**SC also rejects robbery suspect’s bail**
Separately, a two-member bench led by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi dismissed a bail plea filed by Shehbabuddin, accused of involvement in a robbery worth 200,000 Saudi Riyals.
Although defense counsel argued that two witnesses had failed to identify the suspect, the court was informed that 80,000 Riyals were recovered from him. Justice Rizvi observed, “A robbery of 200,000 Riyals took place, and 80,000 were recovered from the suspect—this is not insignificant.”
Justice Shehzad Malik added that the complainant had no personal enmity with the accused, otherwise he would have named him directly in the FIR. The court subsequently dismissed the bail application.
