The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has suspended the arrest warrants issued by a Senior Civil Judge of Islamabad against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and has restrained law enforcement agencies from arresting him. The court also directed the petitioner to appear before the concerned court today (Tuesday).
The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal.
The bench was hearing a supplementary petition filed on behalf of the Chief Minister. During the proceedings, the petitioner's counsel, Advocate Basheer Khan Wazir, informed the court that CM Gandapur had already secured protective bail in several cases from the Peshawar High Court.
However, in one case, a Senior Civil Judge in Islamabad issued arrest warrants on July 19 and directed that Gandapur be produced before the court on July 21.
The counsel explained that the Chief Minister had not received any official intimation regarding the said warrant or the court date and, therefore, could not appear. Given his status as Chief Executive of the province and his active legal engagements, he was unaware of the developments in that specific case.
Advocate Wazir further stated that the notice of the court order was received after the scheduled appearance date had already passed, making it impossible for the CM to comply.
He assured the court that Gandapur is willing to appear before the relevant court.
Considering the circumstances, the bench suspended the arrest warrants and barred authorities from taking any action against the Chief Minister in this matter.
The petitioner was instructed to appear before the concerned trial court accordingly.
Meanwhile, PHC has suspended a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, in a case regarding the non-disclosure of assets.
The court has also restrained the ECP from taking further action against him.
The ruling came from a two-member bench comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal, who were hearing a writ petition filed by Ayub.
During the hearing, Advocate Basheer Khan Wazir represented the petitioner, while Additional Attorney General Sanaullah appeared on behalf of the government.
Ayub's counsel informed the court that his client had already submitted asset declarations within the stipulated 120-day period. He argued that the ECP had no legal authority to issue a show-cause notice after that deadline had passed, and referenced a similar case currently being heard in Abbottabad.
The Additional Attorney General contended that the Abbottabad case was entirely different, prompting Justice Ejaz Anwar to suggest either merging the two cases or summoning the Abbottabad case to Peshawar.
The petitioner's lawyer left the decision to the court's discretion and requested the ECP notice be declared null and void. The court adjourned the hearing and restrained the ECP from initiating any further proceedings against Ayub.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Omar Ayub criticized the government for rising inflation and the artificial sugar shortage. He alleged that the Sharif and Zardari families are profiting from sugar exports and imports, claiming they first exported 500,000 tons of sugar and are now importing it again.
He further alleged that billions were made through sugar scams and that these families entered politics solely for financial gain.
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