PHC again rejects disqualification petition against K-P CM Gandapur

Registrar's office says the Peshawar High Court is not the appropriate forum for removing a chief minister.

The Peshawar High Court has once again rejected a petition seeking the disqualification of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, citing objections.

The petition accused the chief minister of misusing public resources during a protest, violating his oath, and called for his removal from office and disqualification.

The registrar's office raised objections, stating that there is a constitutional process in place for removing a chief minister, and the Peshawar High Court is not the appropriate forum for such matters.

The court returned the petition, stating that the issue should be addressed through the proper constitutional process.

The petition was initially returned by the registrar's office with objections, but the petitioner refiled it.

However, it has been rejected again on the same grounds.

Previously, an ATC judge issued arrest warrants against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Amir Mughal, while Adnan Khan, another party leader from K-P, was placed on a seven-day physical remand.

A total of 12 cases were registered against the PTI leaders and workers in different police stations of Islamabad following Saturday's violence in the capital city during the PTI's protest in D-Chowk.

Chief Minister Gandapur and around 350 PTI leaders and activists, including Azam Swati, Amir Mughal, Umar Ayub, and Barrister Saif, were booked for their alleged involvement in blocking of GT Road and participating in acts of vandalism in Islamabad.

According to the FIR, acting on the orders of Imran and Gandapur, around 3,000 unidentified PTI workers, armed with firearms, nailed bats, iron rods, and even bulldozers marched to Srinagar Highway, shouting anti-state slogans.