Ali Amin Gandapur's non-bailable arrest warrant issued ahead of Lahore rally

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur ahead of the much-hyped rally, set to take place in Lahore at 3pm.

Non-bailable arrest warrants were also issued for former deputy speaker Punjab Assembly Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, Istehkam-e-Pakistan leader Aamer Mehmood Kiani and PTI leader Raja Rashid Hafeez, who are nominated in a case related to alleged vandalism at the Judicial Complex, Islamabad, last year.

The court also declared ex-PTI leader Umer Tanveer Butt an absconder over his continuous absence at the case proceedings.

However, the it approved PTI leader Faisal Javed’s plea for exemption from appearance in the case hearing.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, while issuing the arrest warrant of Gandapur, turned down his bail petition, saying relief could not be provided every time without a solid reason.

The defendant’s lawyer informed the judge that the KP chief minister had told him that he could not appear before the court due to closure of routes.

"The court should grant one [more] chance, Ali Amin will [definitely] appear before the court,” the lawyer said. To which, the judge replied that he fixed the hearing date of Gandapur’s choice last time as well, but to no avail.

Later, Judge Spira adjourned hearing of the case till October 3.

The arrest warrant for Gandapur comes ahead of the much-hyped PTI power show in Lahore, set to take place today at 3pm under strict conditions imposed by the district administration. The KP CM is leading a caravan of PTI supporters from DI Khan to Lahore to participate in the Kahna rally.

High court stops authorities from KP CM's arrest

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) had earlier granted the KP CM a protective bail, directing the authorities concerned to prevent his arrest in all the provinces till October 5.

The court issued detailed order today after the release of arrest warrant by the Islamabad court.

It said that the petitioner expressed fear of arrest in the federal capital and Punjab as he was nominated in multiple cases.

"The applicant has sought details of all the cases lodged against him in the federal capital and Punjab. He believes that all the cases are politically-motivated and mala fide," the order stated, adding that every citizen had the right to know about the cases filed against him before his arrest.

The PHC said the applicant had sought protective bail to appear in the relevant courts. Since he was a public representative, he could not go into hiding.

Judicial complex vandalism

On March 18, 2023, PTI workers suddenly began pelting stones at the authorities inside the premises of the Federal Judicial Complex during PTI founder Imran Khan’s appearance before different courts in connection with multiple cases filed against him.

The former prime minister came with hoards of people — who had wooden sticks and stones in their hands — from the opposite side of the road in violation of Section 144.

The situation resulted in injuring 52 police and personnel of other assisting forces, said the police, adding that the PTI workers also damaged 12 Islamabad police vehicles.

Three police vehicles of the Punjab police and Frontier Corps (FC) were also damaged by agitated workers. Moreover, the workers also set fire to four cars of the federal police which were completely burned, added the police.

Subsequently, a terrorism case was registered against the PTI workers at the counter-terrorism department (CTD) police station for vandalism.

Islamabad police had also registered an FIR against the PTI chief and other party leaders for their alleged involvement in attacking cops, torching vehicles and destroying property.