An Islamabad district and sessions court on Tuesday granted post-arrest bail to PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur who was arrested earlier this month in a case pertaining to threatening national institutions.

The verdict, which was reserved on Monday, was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan. The judge also directed the PTI leader to furnish two surety bonds amounting to Rs0.3 million each.

Gandapur, a former federal minister, was arrested last week from outside the building of the Peshawar High Court’s Dera Ismail Khan Bench. He was handed over to Islamabad’s Golra police but his custody was later given to Bhakkar police.

The first information report (FIR) registered against the PTI leader with Golra police mentioned an audio in which he could purportedly be heard using derogatory language against the federal coalition, hurling threats on government officials and inciting public against the government.

During yesterday’s hearing, Gandapur’s counsel Sher Afazl Khan had argued that his client had never incited any group against the state nor did he provoke the people against the government. He asserted that the magistrate was not authorised to lodge the complaint against the PTI leader for mutiny as it is the prerogative of the state to get such FIRs registered.

Gandapur’s arrest and cases against him

Gandapur, a former federal minister and the PTI’s central leader, was arrested on April 6 outside the building of the Peshawar High Court’s Dera Ismail Khan bench — on charges of two criminal cases registered against him by DI Khan police — after an hours-long drama and sent to the central jail on a six-day judicial remand the next day.

On April 8, Islamabad police reached DI Khan and took the PTI leader to Islamabad. An Islamabad judicial magistrate then remanded him into police custody for a day.

On April 11, an Islamabad judicial magistrate remanded the PTI leader in police custody for two more days.

On April 13, an Islamabad district and sessions court dismissed Gandapur’s plea for post-arrest bail, enabling Punjab police to arrest him in another case registered in Bhakkar under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Punjab Arms (Ordinance) of 2015. He was then sent to Adiala Jail on 14-day judicial remand.

On April 15, an anti-terrorism court in Sargodha handed over the PTI leader to Bhakkar police on three-day physical remand for interrogation.