(PPF/IFEX) – On 2 April 1999, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) arrested the owner and chief executive of the “Frontier Post”, Rehmat Shah Afridi, on the charge of drug possession. According to the ANF, Afridi was arrested after a tip off that he would try to smuggle hashish out of the country. He was arrested at […]
(PPF/IFEX) – On 2 April 1999, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) arrested the
owner and chief executive of the “Frontier Post”, Rehmat Shah Afridi, on the
charge of drug possession. According to the ANF, Afridi was arrested after a
tip off that he would try to smuggle hashish out of the country. He was
arrested at 3:45a.m. (local time), while driving along with his two guards
in his car containing 20 kilograms of hashish, two licensed Kalashinkovs and
a pistol. The ANF alleged that during the preliminary investigation, Afridi
revealed the whereabouts of 620 kilograms of hashish hidden in a truck
parked in Faisalabad (a city in Punjab province). The ANF not only recovered
the 620 kilograms of hashish but also arrested the truck’s driver and
passenger.
The ANF claim that they have been receiving information about Afridi’s
involvement in drug trafficking, and that the case was not politically
motivated. They claim to have taped Afridi’s conversation with the
prospective buyer, and they also monitored his activities in Lahore while he
was finalising his deal there. On Saturday 3 April, the ANF produced Afridi
and others before a city magistrate for a three-day remand. Afridi’s family
has alleged that this is an attempt to gag the press. Memoodullah Afridi
alleged that his father was receiving threats from the ruling quarters and
was expecting this eventuality. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, president of the All
Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), expressed concern over the arrest. He
said that the arrest of a newspaper owner on such a serious charge was a
matter of grave concern for the entire newspaper fraternity. APNS appealed
to the government to constitute an independent inquiry commission to
investigate the charges leveled against Afridi and to provide him with acces
s to legal assistance and medical facilities as he was suffering from a
heart ailment.
