SARGODHA: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) handed over Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur to Bhakkar police on three-day physical remand for interrogation in a case registered against him and his accomplices under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the Pakistan Penal Code.

Saddar police of Bhakkar produced the PTI leader before the special ATC judge amid tight security and demanded 14-day physical custody for interrogation and investigation. The judge granted the police three-day physical remand of Gandapur for completing the investigation.

Although a large number of workers and leaders of the PTI had gathered in the vicinity, the police did not let them come in front of the court and escorted Gandapur out of the court.

Three cases, including the one registered under the ATA, transporting weapons and attempting to hit the policemen while crossing the Dajal check post at the border of Dera Ismail Khan and Bhakkar, were registered against the PTI leader.

As per police reports earlier this month, a huge cache of weapons, including 22 rifles, 47 magazines and 187 bullets, were recovered from a car allegedly travelling from the residence of Gandapur to Lahore.

During a security check at the Dajal check post of the Bhakkar police, the officials stopped the vehicle coming from Dera Ismail Khan for checking but the driver tried to escape and broke the barrier.

It is pertinent to mention that on Friday, a senior civil judge of Bhakkar ‘discharged’ Gandapur in the case of recovery of illegal weapons, which were reportedly the property of a private security company.

WHEAT: Forty-five check posts have been set up in the Sargodha division to control wheat smuggling from four districts of the division, i.e. Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Sargodha. The revenue and police personnel have also been deployed to stop the smuggling of the grain.

These views were expressed by Deputy Director Food Chaudhry Allah Ditta Saqib who said the teams had already seized huge quantities of wheat being smuggled out of the districts mentioned above through the Sial Mor interchange and other places to various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said a wheat procurement target of 96,000 metric tonne had been set for Sargodha district, 20,000 metric tonnes for Khushab, 60,000 metric tonnes for Mianwali and 111,000 metric tonne wheat purchase target had been set for district Bhakkar.

Mr Saqib said about 200,000 bardanas (gunny bags) had been distributed among the farmers so far in connection with wheat procurement from them while the staff was distributing bardana among the farmers.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2023