PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur indicted in audio leak case; Islamabad court suspends arrest warrants
Former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur was indicted in the audio leak case by a district and sessions court in Islamabad on Friday. The court also suspended Gandapur's arrest warrants and dropped proceedings against him as a proclaimed offender.
During the hearing conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasr Minallah Baloch, Gandapur and co-accused Asad Farooq Khan appeared in person with their counsel Advocate Raja Zahoorul Hassan.
The judge questioned Gandapur about his repeated absences from court proceedings, to which Gandapur explained that he had faced challenges attending due to security issues, including road closures and curfews. Gandapur clarified that the call in question was about a license and mentioned that his mobile phones were confiscated during raids.
The court noted the prolonged duration of the case without charges being framed and emphasized that a conviction cannot be based solely on the prosecution's request if the accused is present in court.
Advocate Raja requested the cancellation of the arrest warrants, citing the accused's appearance before the court as grounds for this action. Judge Baloch agreed to cancel the warrants but advised Gandapur to ensure his presence in future court proceedings. He instructed Gandapur to file an application for exemption if unable to attend.
The court scheduled the next hearing for April 6. Last month, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued against Gandapur in the same case, prompting police to take steps to arrest him after his absence from a hearing. The case against Gandapur, registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) at Golra police station, involved audio recordings of him discussing the collection of weapons near Islamabad. Police had sought Gandapur's physical remand to recover the mentioned arms.
