PTI to move PHC against Gandapur's 'detention'

Party to file contempt petition since court barred arrest

PESHAWAR:

A contempt of court petition will be filed today in the Peshawar High Court against the alleged detention of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in Islamabad.

The petition argues that the CM had been detained illegally, and the court was requested to take action against the officials responsible for contempt of court.

The CM's lawyer, Alam Khan Adeenzai, has named Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Islamabad IG Police Ali Nasir Rizvi, DG Rangers Punjab Asif bin Akram, Punjab IG Usman Anwar, and DG FIA Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir, among others, as respondents in the contempt petition.

Under Article 204 of the Constitution, it is argued that K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had filed separate petitions in the Peshawar High Court for transit and protective bails before heading to Islamabad for a protest, as various cases were registered against him in Islamabad and Punjab, and he feared arrest. The court had ordered not to arrest him in these cases.

However, despite this, when the CM arrived at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, it was allegedly surrounded by police and Rangers, and he was later reportedly detained. It has been reported that provincial ministers, PTI members of the assembly, and family members had been able to contact the CM, and it was strongly suspected that he had been detained illegally.

According to the petitioner's lawyer, the Cm is the chief executive of a province and a public representative. "Detaining him in this manner is an insult to the people of the province, which may further deteriorate the situation. The Peshawar High Court had granted protective bail to the CM, but arresting him despite this equates to contempt of court."

The petition requests that all respondents be issued show-cause notices and asked to explain how they committed contempt of court. According to sources, the ILF lawyers had requested the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to form a special bench for an immediate hearing of the case, but due to the holiday, the hearing could not take place. It is expected that a bench will be assigned to the case today.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Insaf Lawyers Forum have demanded the resignation of the interior minister over the alleged abduction of the chief minister from Islamabad. They stated that the chief executive of the province is missing, while the central government denies any arrest, raising many suspicions and causing unrest among the public. They have called for the immediate recovery of Gandapur

Meanwhile, K-P Minister for Public Health Engineering Pakhtoon Yar Khan, in a brief conversation with media representatives, clarified that the viral image being attributed to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is, in fact, his picture.

He said the federal government has spread fake news with a false image on media. The picture was taken when he was leaving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House. He challenged the interior minister, stating that if they are so eager to reveal the truth, they should release the CCTV footage of the incident, which will make the truth clear. However, he claimed that a fake government is carrying out fake actions.

He further explained that he left Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House when police and Rangers were entering from another door. They used teargas to take control of the house.

He stated that K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was arrested and abducted. He rejected the federal government's and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's press conference, commenting that they failed to differentiate between him and the CM.

Also, K-P Adviser for Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr. Saif, expressed deep sorrow over the death of Constable Hameed Shah, stating that an FIR should be registered against Mohsin Naqvi and the Islamabad IG for the incident. In a statement, he said that the "heartless and immoral fake government" is even politicising Constable Hameed Shah's death.

"Instead of making baseless accusations, the fake government should present the postmortem report, but it must be the real one, not fake like their government."

He further stated that Hameed Shah's death did not occur due to stone-pelting by PTI workers, but from teargas shelling. "The constable's son himself said that his father's condition worsened due to the severe teargas shelling. It has been reported that Hameed Shah suffered from asthma and high blood pressure, and his leave request had been denied."

The K-P CM's adviser added heartless officers assigned him duty at the very place where Mohsin Naqvi had planned the intense shelling. "The provincial government is deeply saddened by Hameed Shah's death."