‘Pinky’ facilitators’ physical remand extended by court

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate in Karachi has granted police two more days of physical remand for Aaqib and Ghulam Abbas, who are described as facilitators of Anmol alias Pinky in a high-profile drug trafficking case.

The two men were presented before Judicial Magistrate Naeem Akhtar of District South after their earlier remand expired. During the hearing, the court criticized the investigation over the failure to formally arrest the main accused, Anmol alias Pinky, who has been wanted for a month despite already being in jail.

The judge also expressed frustration with the progress of the case and questioned the investigating officer's handling of the matter.

"You cannot even manage to formalise the arrest a woman accused who has been wanted for a month," the court said.

"If the investigating officer (IO) cannot secure the arrest of an accused already in jail, then what kind of investigation is being conducted?" the judge further remarked.

Investigating officer Abdul Rehman told the court that Anmol alias Pinky would be arrested by the end of the day. He sought more time in custody for the two suspects, saying a mobile phone was to be recovered on the identification of Aaqib and that absconding accomplices linked to the suspects had yet to be arrested. The court approved the request and adjourned proceedings until the next hearing.