Arms, liquor case: Arrest warrant out for former KP CM over persistent no-shows, again

• Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan hears case against Gandapur.
• Official cites ex-CM’s continuous absence from case hearing.
• Case was registered against PTI leader Gandapur back in 2016.
  

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday issued arrest warrant for former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur in a liquor and weapons recovery case over his continued absence from the proceedings.

Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan presided over the proceedings and directed that Gandapur — who did not show up today — be arrested and presented before the court on November 11.

The hearing was adjourned till November 11.

The development pertains to a case registered against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader at the Bara Kahu Police Station in the federal capital.

The arrest warrant adds to the legal woes of the firebrand PTI leader, who was recently ousted from KP’s CM post, as the same court and magistrate issued his arrest warrant in the said case earlier this month as well.

Arrest warrants for PTI leader Gandapur have been repeatedly issued over his continued absence from court proceedings.

What’s the case?

A case was lodged against the PTI leader after the recovery of five Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bulletproof vest, three teargas shells, and bottles of alcohol in October 2016.

Gandapur, who was a provincial minister in KP back then, was charged under the illegal arms and anti-drugs laws after illicit arms and a bottle of liquor were allegedly recovered from his car.

Former KP chief minister, however, has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that the weapons were duly licensed and that the bottle described by police as alcohol actually contained honey.

The case has dragged on for nearly nine years, with proceedings repeatedly stalled due to the PTI leader’s absence from court hearings.