ISLAMABAD: A day before the hearing of the ephedrine case against him, Ali Musa Gilani approached the Supreme Court on Monday, pleading his innocence and seeking protection.

He requested the court to entrust the investigation to any other officer of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) than Regional Director Islamabad Brig Fahim Ahmed Khan.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain will resume on Tuesday hearing of a petition filed by Brig Fahim.

In a report submitted to the court on April 19, Brig Fahim had identified eight accused in the scam – Ali Musa Gilani, former director general health Dr Asad Hafeez, deputy drug controller Abdul Sattar Shorani, former health secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, MNA Mian Abdul Sattar, drug controller Sheikh Ansar, Anjum Shah (a friend of Abdul Sattar) and former acting secretary of the Ministry of Narcotics Control Zafar Abbas Lak.

In his statement – a copy of which is available with Dawn – moved through his counsel Salman Akram Raja, Musa Gilan, son of the prime minister, requested the court to order the ANF not to take any coercive action against him without placing sufficient material before the court to justify such action in accordance with the court’s April 24 order in which it had ordered the probe to be conducted in a “fair, independent and transparent” manner without maligning any person.

Mr Musa Gilani said he had nothing to do with the allocation of any quota for export or local sale of ephedrine. He said he had no role or interest in the allocation of any quota for export or local sale of the drug to Berlex Lab International, Multan, and Danas Pharma (Pvt) Ltd, Islamabad – the two companies implicated in the case.

Mr Musa Gilan said he was being maligned and dragged into the controversy by ANF’s officers without any basis.

“This is evident from the fact that investigation into the alleged misuse of ephedrine by Berlex and Danas was initiated as far back as 2010 and the probe so far carried out has failed to link me to the alleged offence in any manner that can be described as even vaguely credible.”

He cited statements of former director general health Dr Rasheed Jooma who had not made any categorical assertion about his involvement in the case.

Mr Musa Gilani also denied that he had ever made any call to Dr Jooma asking him to facilitate the allocation of ephedrine in favour of the two companies. Even Dr Jooma, he pointed out, had never alleged that the person calling him had posed any threat or otherwise caused any pressure to be applied on him.

Referring to the affidavit filed by Brig Fahim, Mr Musa Gilani said it had even failed to establish any incriminating material against him, adding that the report placed before the court was drafted in a malicious manner.

About Brig Fahim’s claim that Mr Lashari had asked the officer to ‘spare’ him, Mr Musa Gilani said the statement was a “concoction and fabrication” which had been rebutted by Mr Lashari.