ISLAMABAD: The court of Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti on Monday adjourned the hearing while maintaining the arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, after his statement under Section 342 could not be recorded in the alleged liquor and illegal weapons case.
During proceedings related to the case registered at the Bhara Kahu Police Station, Gandapur failed to appear before the court once again. His lawyer Raja Zahoorul Hassan assured the court that Gandapur’s Section 342 statement would be recorded at 3pm via video link.
He questioned, “If we don’t record the statement, then under what law will the court deny us our right to Section 342? This is not the court of Emperor Akbar.
You reject every application we submit. Emperor Akbar used to hand out gold coins when pleased, and order executions when angry.”
Judge Mubashir Hassan Chishti responded, “You probably haven’t read my previous order—everything is clearly written.” The defence counsel replied that the statement would be recorded either in this courtroom or another.
The judge remarked, “Why should we go elsewhere? Our own LCD is working fine.” On the judge’s direction, the courtroom’s LCD was turned on. However, the hearing was once again adjourned.
When the proceedings resumed later in the day, Gandapur’s statement still could not be recorded due to internet connectivity issues. As a result, the court upheld the non-bailable arrest warrant for the chief minister.
In the written order, Judge Mubashir Hassan said that the hearing was scheduled specifically to record Gandapur’s Section 342 statement and that he had already been served with a show-cause notice to appear.
The defence counsel submitted that the chief minister was engaged in official duties, particularly because of the rain emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He reiterated that Gandapur was willing to record his statement via video link and had provided the court with his contact number and Zoom link. However, technical issues prevented the connection from being established.
The court acknowledged that the defence lawyer’s willingness showed the accused intended to record his statement.
The judge granted another opportunity to Gandapur to record his statement—either in person or via video link—at the next hearing on July 24, while maintaining the arrest warrant. The court also directed Gandapur to submit a written reply to the show-cause notice.
Judge Mubashir Chishti advised the defence counsel, “It would be better if he appeared in person and recorded his statement. After all, he is the chief minister—what could possibly be the issue for him to appear?”