ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Thursday annulled the trial court’s verdict, declaring the PTI stalwart and ‘the-incumbent’ KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as a proclaimed offender in a case of recovery of arms and liquor case.
District and Sessions Judge (DSJ) Shahrukh Arjumand heard Gandapur’s petition while the petitioner’s lawyer Raja Zahoorul Hasan and prosecutor Mohammad Salman Khan were also present in the court.
During the hearing, the court also granted an exemption to Gandapur from personal appearance due to his “busy official schedule”.
After the arguments concluded, the court ruled in favour of the K-P chief minister and stated in its order that the “server did not comply with the process and the notices and could not be received by the accused. Therefore the proceedings under Sections 87 and 88 against the accused are being closed while the petitioner submits bond worth Rs50,000 along with a local surety”.
Furthermore, the court sent back the case to the trial court and adjourned the hearing till March 14. Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) KP President Ali Amin Gandapur was declared absconder over not appearing in the court despite non-bailable arrest warrants in the case related to the recovery of liquor and unlicensed weapons.
The Bahara Kahu police station had registered a case against Gandapur with charges of arms and liquor recovery from possession.
In a similar declaration by the court against several PTI leaders, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore had declared PTI’s 10 former and present leaders proclaimed offenders, including Hammad Azhar and Mian Aslam Iqbal, in a case registered against them in response to May 9 riots.
PTI leaders had been allegedly responsible for creating law and order situation and involved in arson attacks following the arrest of former premier Imran Khan on May 9.
An FIR had been registered against them in Model Town police station under different sections.
