Punjab police want Anmol alias Pinky’s custody from Sindh
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
LAHORE: After the arrest of drug dealer Anmol alias Pinky by Sindh Police, her appearance in a Karachi court whose video went viral on mainstream as well as social media and her revelations during the investigation, Punjab police have also woken up to three old cases allegedly registered against her and her brothers in Lahore several years ago and are reportedly planning to seek custody of the woman from Sindh. On the other hand, the arrest and investigation have put the Punjab Police under the scanner as it transpired that officers in the CIA (now the Crime Control Department) had taken bribes and avoided arresting Anmol, who was nominated in three cases. The FIRs were registered with Liaqatabad Police Station in 2019, Iqbal Town Police Station in 2020 and Kot Lakhpat Police in 2022, nominating Anmol and her two brothers, Nasir and Riaz Baloch. The 2022 FIR clearly stated that the police, during a raid on Jan 6, rounded up a black SUV at Shadab Colony, following the intelligence reports that it was smuggling a huge cache of drugs. It said a man (Riaz Baloch) left the car, which was being driven by a young woman. As the police overpowered him, the woman driver suddenly pressed the accelerator, tried to run them over and fled from the crime scene. The police found drugs, including cocaine, charas, and heroin, from the man who identified the fleeing driver as his sister, Anmol alias Pinky. Traces three cases against her registered in Lahore; investigating officers found complicit in not arresting woman drug dealer; an ex-officer got a double-cabin, house from her Some officials believed the revelations made during the post-arrest investigations by Karachi police and two FIRs registered in Lahore were sufficient material to grill several officers of Lahore Police who allegedly stayed silent or negligently avoided arresting Anmol in the three cases mentioned above. A senior police official said the woman and her brothers were running a network of dealers from Lahore to