Pakistani court issues non-bailable warrant against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Ali Amin Gandapur

A court in Pakistan’s Islamabad has issued a non-bailable warrant against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Gandapur is from jailed former premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI). The party is facing continuing yearslong crackdown after Imran fell out of favour with the nation’s all-power military-intelligence establishment.

The court has issued the warrant against Gandapur in a case related to alleged recovery of arms and liquor in 2016.

Rejecting Gandapur’s request to be exempted from appearing in court, Judge Shaista Khan Kundi ordered the concerned police station house officer (SHO) to arrest Gandapur and produce him before the court.

As she rejected Gandapur’s plea for exemption from appearance, Kundi noted the contradictory statements seeking exemption. She flagged that while one lawyer for the accused said he could not attend court because he was unwell, another assistant said he could not appear because of the floods, according to Geo TV.

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Kundi further noted that it was the eighth instance that Gandapur’s statement could not be recorded due to his absence.

The case against Gandapur is related to the alleged recovery of five Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bullet-proof vest, three teargas shells, and bottles of alcohol in October 2016, according to Geo TV.

Gandapur was a minister in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government at the time and was booked under illegal arms and anti-drugs laws.

Gandapur is the latest PTI leader to face renewed wrath of the courts as several party leaders, including its leader and former Pakistani premier Imran, remain incarcerated. There are more than 100 cases against Imran. Since the last year’s attacks by PTI cadres on Pakistani Army establishments, the party has been under a sweeping crackdown.

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In the national elections earlier this year, the PTI was barred from fielding its candidates and the party symbol was frozen. In July, the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government announced the plan to ban PTI.