On Saturday, a local court in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, ordered the custody of Ali Amin Gandapur, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, to be handed over to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police. This was in relation to a case filed against him at the Police Station Golra in the capital city. Gandapur had been arrested on Thursday in separate cases filed by the Islamabad and Punjab police.
The court in Dera Ismail Khan sent Gandapur to the central jail on a six-day judicial remand, ensuring his presence in separate cases filed by both police forces. However, accepting his plea, the judicial magistrate rejected the two cases registered by the police in Dera Ismail Khan against him and also rejected the plea of the Islamabad and Punjab police seeking physical custody of the PTI leader in separate cases registered against him.
The magistrate directed the representatives of both Islamabad and Punjab police to fulfill and complete the required documentation for further hearing proceedings. Meanwhile, the PTI supporters staged a protest against Gandapur’s arrest and his custody to the ICT, and the PTI leadership strongly condemned the arrest, terming the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government in the center a “fascist” administration.
In a separate case, an anti-terrorism court in Dera Ismail Khan summoned Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on April 11 to indict him in the suicide attack case, in which former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) law minister Israrullah Khan Gandapur was killed. The accused’s brother, Sardar Umar Amin Khan Gandapur, the city mayor of DI Khan tehsil, is currently on bail in the same case. The attack occurred on the first day of Eidul Azha in 2013 at the Gandapur Cottage in Kulachi, and Ali Amin, a prominent PTI leader, was allegedly involved in the suicide attack that resulted in the death of the K-P law minister.
According to reports, Ali Amin was not handed over to the Punjab police, who were supposed to take him, as they could not complete the required documents. Therefore, the Islamabad police, who were handling the cases filed against Ali Amin in Islamabad, reached Dera Ismail Khan to take him into custody. Upon learning about his extradition, PTI leaders Asad Qaiser, Pervez Khattak, and Azam Swati reached DI Khan and consulted legal experts at the judicial complex to prevent Ali Amin’s extradition to Islamabad.
However, despite their best efforts, they were unable to stop the transfer of Ali Amin to the capital police. At the court’s gate, the PTI workers protested against the handover of Ali Amin to the Islamabad police. The situation became tense, and DI Khan police arrested six focal persons, including Ali Amin’s personal secretary Latif Niazi, for violating Section 144. It was previously reported that Niazi was being deported from Pakistan after being declared an Afghan citizen.
The PTI workers continued to protest against the handover of Ali Amin to the Islamabad police, as they blocked traffic by burning tires between Town Hall Road and Jail Road in DI Khan. The case against Ali Amin Gandapur has raised concerns among his supporters, who argue that the government is using the legal system to target opposition leaders. However, the court proceedings are ongoing, and it remains to be seen what the outcome of the case will be.
