PHC suspends arrest warrants for KP CM

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday suspended the arrest warrants issued by a senior civil judge in Islamabad for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and directed authorities not to arrest him.

The court also instructed the chief minister to appear before the relevant court today (Tuesday). The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal.

The bench was hearing a supplementary petition filed by the chief minister. Representing the petitioner, Bashir Khan Wazir informed the court that Gandapur had already secured protective bail in multiple cases from the PHC and was complying with court proceedings in those matters.

However, in one case, a senior civil judge in Islamabad issued arrest warrants for him on July 19, with instructions that he be produced before the court on July 21, he added. Wazir told the court that neither the chief minister was aware of the arrest warrants, nor was he informed about the court appearance date.

“Being the chief executive of the province and facing multiple legal cases across the country, it was not possible for him to appear in Islamabad on that date,” he argued. He added that by the time they received the court order, the date of appearance had already passed, making it impossible for the chief minister to comply. Wazir stated that Gandapur was willing to appear before the court and requested the PHC to suspend the arrest orders issued by the senior civil judge.