PESHAWAR: A single-member Peshawar High Court bench on Monday granted transit bail to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader and former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur until June 25 in 13 cases of rioting and violence registered in Islamabad and Mianwali during his party’s recent Azadi March.

PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan accepted plea of Mr Gandapur on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs50,000 each. The bench directed him to appear before relevant courts by June 25.

The high court has already granted transit bails until June 25 to PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, Provincial Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai and former governor Shah Farman.

Due to province-wide strike of lawyers, Mr Gandapur appeared in person in the court and told the bench that he had been charged in 13 cases, four of which were registered in Mianwali and nine in Islamabad.

He stated that the cases were registered on basis of political vendetta as the present government wanted to victimise the leaders and workers of PTI.

The chief justice observed that he had already gone through his file and he needed not to deliver a political speech. The bench then decided to grant him transit bail.

In his petitions, Mr Gandapur stated that FIRs had been registered against leaders and workers of PTI, including the petitioner, in Islamabad and other parts of the country. He said that he and other PTI leaders had been charged in concocted cases by the federal government.

The FIRs in Mianwali were registered against Mr Gandapur, who was leading a procession from Dera Ismail Khan to join the Azadi March in Islamabad.

In one of the FIRs registered in Mianwali it was alleged that Mr Gandapurt was leading a procession of people armed with sticks. It was added that the protesters attacked a deputy superintendent of police and also badly damaged his official vehicle. It was alleged that despite ban on all sorts of rallies, Mr Gandapur had taken out the procession.

The cases were mostly registered under different provisions of Pakistan Penal Code, including Section 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), Section 427 (mischief causing damage to currency), Section 147 (punishment for rioting), Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed), Section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public function) and Section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant).

The cases were registered during the Azadi March, which had begun on May 25 and ended on May 26 morning, mostly charging the PTI workers of resorting to violence at the behest of Mr Imran and other party leaders including Mr Gandapur.

After the court hearing, Mr Gandapur told journalists that the ‘imported’ government had plunged the country into deep economic crises. He said whenever Mr Imran Khan gave call for a long march, they would fully participate in it.

He said that the prime demand of his party was to dissolve the assemblies and hold free and fair elections.

Published in Dawn,June 7th, 2022