Civil disobedience movement: Gandapur says Imran’s instructions being awaited

"I tried to visit party’s founding chairman at Adiala Jail but was denied entry on grounds of lack of clearance," says KP CM

By Amjad Safi

December 18, 2024

PTI founder Imran Khan (right) and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. — Facebook/Ali Amin Khan Gandapur/AFP/File

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Tuesday he was waiting for instructions from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan about the civil disobedience movement.

“I tried to visit the party’s founding chairman at Adiala Jail but was denied entry on the grounds of “lack of clearance. I am the representative of an entire province. I don’t need clearance to meet him,” Gandapur said while speaking to the media after appearing in the Peshawar High Court (PHC). Without giving the details, the chief minister criticized what he termed as “cheap tactics” to obstruct political processes.

Earlier, the PHC extended the protective bail of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur until January 16 and directed the authorities not to arrest him. A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Wiqar Ahmad also issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to provide details of cases against the chief minister. Alam Khan Adenzai and Ali Zaman advocates represented the chief minister in the court. Deputy Attorney General Hazrat Syed and NAB Prosecutor Hashmat Jahangir appeared on behalf of the federation and NAB, respectively. During the proceedings, the court was informed that Gandapur had filed a request seeking details of cases registered against him following the protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk. His counsel argued that Gandapur intended to appear before the relevant courts but was not being provided the details of the cases registered against him.

Deputy Attorney General Hazrat Said informed the court that the Federal Investigation Agency had filed no cases against Gandapur. However, he stated that 32 cases were registered in Islamabad and 33 in Punjab.

The NAB prosecutor informed the court that an inquiry against Gandapur was being conducted, but reports from Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh were still awaited. The court directed the NAB to submit a comprehensive report at the next hearing and granted Gandapur protective bail.