Police intercept Rana Sanaullah at Lahore's Regal Chowk

LAHORE: Punjab police on Wednesday intercepted the car Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab president Rana Sanaullah was travelling in at Lahore’s Regal Chowk, ARY News reported.

The police said they pulled his vehicle over to search it and will allow him to go after the search. However, the PML-N MNA insisted that he will let the police search his vehicle in the presence of media.

Speaking to ARY News, Rana Sanaullah confirmed the news saying, “I am being asked to let [police] search my vehicle first, but I won’t do so until media comes.”

The PML-N leader, who faces drug smuggling charges, said he was previously intercepted by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) that later claimed to have recovered heroin from his vehicle upon search.

“I am present inside the vehicle along with the driver and a guard as many people in civilian dress are present outside,” he said, adding that there is no higher police official present at Regal Chowk.

Rana Sanaullah was on his way to the Lahore High Court (LHC) when he was intercepted. It is noteworthy that an LHC bench is to take up a bail petition of PML-N President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif today.

Rana Sanaullah was arrested last year in July by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) from the Islamabad-Lahore motorway near the Sukheki area. The ANF claimed that drugs were recovered from the PML-N leader’s car. He was released on bail on Dec 26.

His name has been put on the Exit Control List (ECL) in drug recovery case.