KP CM nominee Ali Amin Gandapur faces arrest for violating AJK election code

Issuing an arrest warrant for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s nominee for the post of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister over alleged violation of the code of conduct during the 2021 polls, the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission has directed Ali Amin Gandapur to appear before it on February 28.

The electoral body has sent a letter about the PTI leader's arrest to the Dera Ismail Khan deputy commissioner. PTI founder Imran Khan nominated Gandapur for the slot of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister after the party swept the February 8 elections with 84 seats in the province. 

The petition against Gandapur was filed by lawyer Raja Zulqarnain during the 2021 election.

The firebrand PTI leader was banned from participating in and addressing rallies in election-related events in AJK.

The action was taken after the commission came to know that Gandapur had made unpleasant comments in his speeches at different public meetings in AJK, apart from announcing deve­­lopment packages worth billions of rupees.

According to the AJK Election Commission, the decision was taken also because the acts of the minister were not only creating law and order problems but had also triggered fears of loss of human lives.

In the February 8 general elections, Gandapur won on NA-44, Dera Ismail Khan-I, and PK-113.

On February 13, he was nominated as his party's candidate for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief minister.

"KP's chief minister will be Ali Amin Gandapur," said the former prime minister while speaking to journalists in Adiala jail, where he is currently incarcerated in a number of cases.