Court orders arrest of Gandapur in liquor case
A judicial magistrate in Islamabad has ordered the arrest of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur after dismissing his application seeking exemption from personal appearance in a long-pending case pertaining to the recovery of liquor and illegal arms.
Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the chief minister and directed the station house officer (SHO) concerned to ensure his production before the court. A notice was also issued to the SHO for immediate compliance.
The case dates back to October 2016, when the Islamabad police claimed to have recovered five Kalashnikov assault rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bulletproof vest, alcohol and three tear gas shells from a vehicle belonging to the PT) leader outside Bani Gala.
Gandapur, however, has consistently denied the police allegations. He stated that he had been traveling with two licensed Kalashnikov rifles and maintained that a valid arms licence was present in the vehicle. Regarding the alleged recovery of liquor, he claimed that the bottle in question contained honey, not alcohol.
During Friday's hearing, the magistrate observed that the case has remained pending for nearly eight years. The prosecution completed the recording of witness statements in May 2024, yet the accused has failed to record his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The court remarked that it had provided the accused ample opportunity, and warned that a verdict could be announced even in his absence should he fail to appear at the next hearing. "No further relief will be granted if the statement is not recorded by July 21," the magistrate stated in his written order.
The court also noted that the Peshawar High Court's bail order did not mention the present case and did not bar this court from issuing arrest warrants. The hearing was adjourned until July 21.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
33 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Gandapur's arrest warrants issued in weapons, liquor case
ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday dismissed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur's exemption application in alleged possession of illegal weapons and liquor case and issued his arrest warrants. Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hussain Chishti, while announcing its reserved verdict, issued warrants for Gandapur and has ordered the police to arrest Gandapur and present him in court at the next hearing to be held on Tuesday (today). Earlier, the court resumed hearing, but neither Gandapur nor his legal counsel appeared before the court. Despite multiple calls for the case, no representative showed up, the judge remarked. Expressing displeasure over the absence, the court granted a final opportunity to the accused. 'Gandapur is given time until 2:30 pm on Monday to record his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC),' the judge ordered. The court took a break until 2:30 pm. The magistrate warned that if Gandapur and his lawyer failed to appear by then, their right to record a statement under Section 342 will be forfeited. The court had handed over Gandapur the questionnaire comprising nine questions under Section 342 on May 17, 2024. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
K-P Senate vote brings no surprises
A lawmaker casts his vote during the Senate elections at the K-P Assembly on Monday. Polling was held for seven general seats, two reserved for women, and two for technocrats, including Ulema. PHOTO: PPI The Senate election in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly sprang no surprise on Monday as a prior understanding between the government and the opposition parties held firm, resulting in the victory of all consensus candidates, according to unofficial results The K-P Assembly voted for 11 vacant seats in the upper house of parliament from the province. Originally scheduled for March 2024, the elections were delayed due to a dispute over the allocation of reserved seats, which was ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court last month. Among those who cast their ballots were 25 newly sworn-in lawmakers on reserved seats. They had taken oath a day earlier at the Governor House after a scheduled assembly session was adjourned due to lack of quorum. Ahead of the polls, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reached a seat-sharing arrangement with opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), to avoid a contested election. As part of the deal, the government agreed to allocate five of the 11 seats to the opposition. However, some K-P PTI-backed candidates running independently initially refused to withdraw. While most pulled out by Sunday night, one PTI hopeful, Khurram Zeeshan, remained in the race but received no votes. According to the unofficial results announced by the Provincial Election Commission, PTI's Murad Saeed received the highest 26 votes, followed by Faisal Javed, who secured 22 votes. PTI's Mirza Afridi – former Senate deputy chairman – and Pir Noorul Haq Qadri polled 21 votes each. From the opposition, Maulana Attaul Haq Darwesh of the JUI-F, Niaz Ahmed of PML-N and Talha Mahmood of the PPP were elected. Ahmed, son of PML-N leader Amir Muqam, bagged 18 votes each, while Talha Mahmood secured 17 votes. On technocrats and women seats, PTI's Azam Swati and Rubina Naz were elected. Both secured 89 votes each. From the opposition side, Dilawar Khan of the JUI-F was elected on technocrats' seat with 54 votes while Rubina Khalid of the PPP was elected on women's seat with 52 votes. The results were in accordance with the understanding reached earlier this month between the government and the opposition. Under the deal, the government received four general seats, one technocrat and one woman seats, and the opposition got three general seats, one technocrat and one woman seats. Earlier, the polling started at 11am instead of the scheduled 9am. The voting process was presided over by the provincial election commissioner. One treasury member did not participate in the voting. As a result, the ballots were cast by 144 out of 145 lawmakers. The polling process went on smoothly. The voting time was extended by one and half hours. The first vote was cast by JUI-F's Malik Adnan, while Chief Minister Gandapur was the last to cast the vote. Soon after the results were announced, there was jubilation among the respective party workers. Punjab by-polls A PML-N candidate, Hafiz Abdul Karim, won the Senate election in the Punjab Assembly, defeating Abdul Sattar of the opposition PTI, according to unofficial result announced by the provincial election authorities. The by-election was held to fill one vacant seat in the Senate from Punjab. During the voting 345 lawmakers cast their ballots. Hafiz Abdul Karim secured 243 votes while his rival, Abdul Sattar was polled 99 votes. Three votes were rejected.
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Judge issues K-P CM's arrest warrants again
A judicial magistrate in Islamabad has once again rejected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur's request for exemption from attending proceedings of a case related to possession of liquor and illegal weapons and maintained his arrest warrants. On Monday, Gandapur again failed to appear in the court of Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti despite being summoned. His lawyers were also absent. Judge Chishti remarked that even after multiple calls for the case, no one appeared in court. He granted a final deadline for Gandapur until Monday 2:30pm to record his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court then adjourned the proceedings until that time and warned that failure to appear would result in the forfeiture of the right to record the statement. When the session resumed, Gandapur's lawyer Raja Zahoor-ul-Hasan came to the rostrum and filed a request for exemption from appearance, citing Gandapur's engagement in the Senate elections. Judge Chishti, however, asked him either to record the 342 statement or lose the right to do so. The lawyer gave an undertaking assuring that Gandapur would appear in the next hearing. He said seven co-accused had already been acquitted, and a petition for Gandapur's acquittal was also pending. The judge noted that the K-P CM had previously committed to appearing in court and recording the statement himself, and that the date had been set according to his own convenience. The lawyer stated that the Peshawar High Court had granted bail to Gandapur in all related cases, and requested one more date for the 342 statement to be recorded. Judge Chishti told the lawyer to submit the necessary applications, saying he would issue an order shortly. Later, the court rejected the exemption request and maintained the arrest warrants, ordering that Gandapur be arrested and produced in court. The judge adjourned proceedings until July 22 (today). The case dates back to Oct 2016, when the Islamabad police claimed to have recovered five Kalashnikov assault rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bulletproof vest, alcohol and three tear gas shells from a vehicle belonging to the PTI leader outside Bani Gala. The case was registered at Bara Kahu Police Station. The same judge on July 19 issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the K-P chief minister and directed the station house officer (SHO) concerned to ensure his production before the court.
