Weapons, liquor case: Non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Gandapur

ISLAMABAD: Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hussain Chishti issued non-bailable arrest warrant for KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in an alleged recovery of illegal weapons and alcohol case.

Gandapur, who has been summoned to court multiple times, failed to appear once again. In response, the court issued non-bailable warrants for his arrest, ordering authorities to ensure his presence at the next hearing.

The case, which centres around the alleged recovery of illegal weapons and alcohol, has now been adjourned until October 12. The court directed law enforcement agencies to arrest Gandapur and present him before the court on that date.

The warrant came in connection with a liquor and arms recovery case from 2016 when police had recovered weapons and liquor from Gandapur’s car outside the residence of then PTI chairman Imran Khan as he came to attend the party’s planned lockdown of the capital.

The provincial minister came in a motorcade along with 300-plus PTI workers. When they reached Banigala, the police blocked them off for violating a ban on rallies and gatherings under Section 144 before directing them to disperse.

When the PTI supporters accompanying Gandapur refused to disperse, the police began arresting them.

Meanwhile, Gandapur got out of his car and ran into the adjacent forest. The police said they found a man sitting in Gandapur’s SUV holding a teargas gun. The man was identified as Allah Nawaz, a resident of DI Khan, Gandapur’s hometown.

While searching the car, the police recovered a sealed bottle of high-end whisky, a bulletproof vest, two submachine guns, ammunition and two number plates.

The police claimed that the weapons were unlicensed, while the PTI leader claimed they were licensed weapons and belonged to his security guards. He had claimed the whisky bottle had honey in it.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday restrained the federal and Punjab law-enforcement agencies from arresting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin.

Gandapur had moved the PHC to seek transit and protective bails in multiple cases lodged against him in the federal capital and Punjab.

Issuing a short order, the court granted protective bail to Gandapur to avoid being arrested until November 5. However, the PHC directed him to appear before the relevant courts. Gandapur had filed separate petitions in the PHC for transit bail prior to traveling to Islamabad.

His legal team argued that as the sitting chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he was unaware of the various cases registered against him in Islamabad and Punjab. The petition claimed that both the federal and Punjab governments were attempting to arrest him without due process. The chief minister’s counsel said that his client was willing to appear before the relevant courts but had been unable to do so due to certain constraints. After reviewing the petition, the court agreed that Gandapur’s concerns were valid and noted that he had voluntarily surrendered to the court, which expressed his intention to face the charges.

In its short written order, the court partially granted Gandapur’s request for bail, ruling that neither federal law-enforcement agencies nor the Punjab government could arrest him in the current cases until he appeared before the appropriate judicial forums. The court directed Gandapur to appear himself before the relevant courts by November 5.