An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday upheld a non-bailable arrest warrant issued for former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur around a week ago over his continued absence from the hearings of a 2016 arms and liquor case.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Gandapur in the case multiple times over his non-appearance, including on October 5, 2024, September 4, 2024, July 19, 2025, Sept 10, 2025 and October 21, 2025.

During today’s hearing, too, both Gandapur and his lawyer, Raja Zahoor-ul-Hassan, failed to appear in court.

Subsequently, Judge Mubashir Hassan Chishti upheld the court’s previous order and directed the relevant authorities to arrest and present Gandapur in the court.

The court adjourned the hearing till November 11.

Arms and liquor case

The case dates back to Oct 30, 2016, when Islamabad police said they had recovered five Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bulletproof vest, alcohol and three tear gas shells from then-KP revenue minister Gandapur’s car outside Bani Gala, where the residence of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan is located.

The incident had taken place against the backdrop of authorities preventing PTI supporters from reaching Bani Gala on Imran’s call to execute a plan to ‘lockdown’ the capital later on Nov 2.

Gandapur had denied the police allegations, asserting that he was travelling with two licensed Kalashnikov rifles and that the vehicle contained a valid arms licence. He further claimed that the liquor bottle in question actually contained honey.

Subsequently, a case was registered against Gandapur at the federal capital’s Bhara Kahu police station.

During a previous hearing, Gandapur, while speaking to the media outside the courtroom, had dismissed the case as “politically motivated.”

“There is nothing in this case. I wasn’t even present when it was filed, and the vehicle in question wasn’t mine,” he had claimed.