ISLAMABAD: A court in Islamabad declared former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and former opposition leader Omar Ayub as proclaimed offenders (POs) in two cases related to the Azadi March, issuing permanent arrest warrants against them.
Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti announced the decision after the accused repeatedly failed to appear before the court despite multiple summons. The court had earlier ordered initiation of proceedings against Gandapur for non-compliance.
Meanwhile, PTI founder Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Zartaj Gul, and several other accused were acquitted in both cases. The cases were registered at Bara Kahu Police Station against Gandapur and others.
Separately, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), presided over by Judge Tahir Abbas Supra, adjourned the hearing of a case related to a protest at the Faizabad interchange following the disqualification of the PTI founder, citing the absence of prosecution witnesses.
During the hearing, Aamir Mahmood Kayani appeared before the court, while Wasiq Qayyum and Rashid Hafeez sought exemption from attendance. Due to the unavailability of witnesses, no further proceedings could take place. The court directed that witnesses be produced at the next hearing and adjourned the case until February 16. The case has been registered at Police Station I-9 under anti-terrorism provisions against PTI leaders.
In another development, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah approved a three-day physical remand of an accused arrested for allegedly propagating the narrative of Fitna al-Hindustan linked to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
During the hearing, officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation (NCCI) produced the accused, Zafar Iqbal, and requested an 11-day physical remand to recover data from his social media accounts. The prosecution alleged that the accused disseminated false propaganda against state institutions and attempted to incite the public through online platforms. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted a three-day physical remand. The NCCI has registered a case against the accused.
