On Tuesday, the district and sessions court in Islamabad granted bail to Ali Amin Gandapur, a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who had been arrested on April 6 over an audio recording in which he allegedly threatened authorities if party chairman Imran Khan was detained. During the hearing, Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan reviewed the bail petition submitted by Gandapur. In the audio recording, Gandapur had reportedly threatened to lay siege to Islamabad if the former prime minister was arrested. A case related to the audio recording was registered against Gandapur at the Golra police station in the federal capital.
The investigation officer submitted a report during the hearing and informed the court that the audiotape, purportedly featuring Gandapur, had been sent to the Cyber Crime Wing to determine its authenticity. The forensic report would reveal whether the voice in the audiotape belonged to Gandapur. The judge also inquired about the manufacturer of the mobile phone and sim in use by the PTI leader, to which the investigation officer replied that a request for data of call recordings had been submitted. The investigation officer further informed the court that Gandapur claimed the audio recording was fake.
After hearing arguments, the court granted Gandapur post-arrest bail and directed him to submit two surety bonds of Rs300,000 each. Gandapur’s arrest had been condemned by PTI leaders, including Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shahzad Waseem, who criticized the “law of the jungle” prevailing in the country.
On Monday, a local court reserved its judgment on the post-arrest bail petition of Gandapur in a case registered by Golra Police Station. The prosecutor informed the court that the prosecution had collected the recording transcript of Gandapur’s telephonic calls aired by television channels from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and sent it for forensic analysis. The police officials informed the court that the report on the audiotape was yet awaited. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the FIR was registered against his client on the charges of instigating the public against institutions. The lawyer further argued that his client had never spoken against the integrity of the country and prayed to the court to grant post-arrest bail to his client.
In conclusion, Ali Amin Gandapur, a PTI leader, was granted post-arrest bail on Tuesday by a district and sessions court in Islamabad over an audio recording in which he allegedly threatened authorities if Imran Khan was detained. The court had reserved its judgment on Monday and summoned the investigation officer of the case. The prosecution had collected the recording transcript of Gandapur’s telephonic calls aired by television channels from the PEMRA and sent it for forensic analysis. The report on the audiotape was yet awaited. The PTI leader had been condemned by party leaders for his arrest.
