The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader from Rawalpindi Hanif Abbasi and former ambassador Muhammad Sadiq have been appointed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM).

According to the 24News HD TV channel, an official notification of Hanif Abbasi and Muhammad Sadiq as SAPM has also been issued on Wednesday evening.

As per the report of the channel, the post of Hanif Abbasi and Muhammad Sadiq will be equivalent to the post of a federal minister.

Muhammad Hanif Abbasi (born 4 January 1966) is a businessman and politician of the PML-N. He graduated from the Forman Christian (FC) College and the University of Punjab (PU).

Hanif Abbasi had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan twice from 2002 to 2008 and again from 2008 to 2013.

He was arrested in April 2018 in the Ephedrine Quota Case by anti-narcotics force and sentenced to prison for life by the court. 

However, on April 11, 2019, a bench comprising Justice Aalia Neelum of the Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the sentence, the court maintained that all other accused in the case were acquitted and all legal points were not considered during the case.

Reporter: Awais Kiyani