PTI’s Gandapur turns himself in to police

He was taken into custody after he voluntarily surrendered to the police outside the Peshawar High Court, DI Bench

DI KHAN:

Former federal minister and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur was arrested on Thursday outside the court’s premises in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district.

He was taken into custody after he voluntarily surrendered to the police outside the Peshawar High Court, DI Khan bench where he went to secure bail in the cases registered against him on different charges including terrorism.

“I don’t know anything[about FIRs] [first information reports]… they are saying that the FIRs are registered against me and my arrest is required,” he said while speaking to the media before his arrest.

The PTI leader claimed that the police were arresting him “illegally” and also carried out raids at his residence.

Gandapur said he voluntarily surrendered to the authorities because he did not want to cause any mayhem at the court premises.

Meanwhile, PTI chief Imran Khan has condemned the arrest of his party leader, saying, “complete law of the jungle prevails in Pakistan”.

“PDM & handlers have a one point agenda – that is to go after PTI workers & leadership. It was decided preemptively to arrest Ali Amin Gandapur despite bails. But they will still be decimated in the elections InshaAllah,” he wrote on his Twitter handle while posting the video of Gandapur’s counsel.

Today complete law of the jungle prevails in Pak. PDM & handlers have a one point agenda - that is to go after PTI workers & leadership. It was decided preemptively to arrest Ali Amin Gandapur despite bails. But they will still be decimated in the elections InshaAllah. pic.twitter.com/PU3GILBnjo

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 6, 2023

In the video, the PTI leader’s lawyer said district police officer (DPO) told the sessions judge that they had to arrest Gandapur “at all cost whether there is any case against him or not”.

The counsel further claimed that the DPO was ready to face the contempt notice when the judge informed him that Gandapur had been granted bail.

Also read: Court seeks details of cases filed against PTI leaders

DI Khan High Court Bar Association (HCBA) also condemned the arrest, saying the detention was based on “mal intent”.

In a statement, the HCBA said that the PTI leader was not arrested from the premises of High Court Bar but was taken into custody from outside the gate.

Earlier this week, security personnel claimed that they had found huge cache of weapons from a car that was going to Lahore from DI Khan residence of Gandapur.

During a security check at the Dajal check post of the Bhakkar police, the law enforcement personnel signalled the car to stop for routine identification but the riders hit the security barriers and fled.

Later, an FIR was registered against Gandapur and the two suspects arrested by the police.