Arms, liquor case: Court adjourns hearing as Gandapur assures to record testimony

• Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan upholds CM's arrest warrant.
• Orders Ali Amin Gandapur to submit reply to show-cause notice.
• CM's video link statement cannot be recorded due to internet issue.
  

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad adjourned the hearing on Tuesday after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur assured to record his statement in the weapons and liquor recovery case.

Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan resumed the hearing, where the KP chief executive's counsel assured that Gandapur would record his statement via video link at 3pm.

The defence lawyer also questioned the court under which law it would forfeit the right to record testimony under Section 342 over failure to appear in hearing.

To this, the judicial magistrate remarked that the defence should have thoroughly read his order, which defined the court's jurisdiction.

Hassan had expressed displeasure over Gandapur's absence last week. He also warned that the court may issue a verdict in his absence, and failure to do so could forfeit his right to record the 342 statement.

In its previous order, the court stated that the case had been pending for eight years, and the prosecution had recorded testimonies of witnesses since May last year.

In today's hearing, the court permitted CM Gandapur to record his testimony via video and deferred the hearing till 3pm.

However, Gandapur's statement could not be recorded due to internet issues at the court.

The judicial magistrate stated in his order that the KP CM's arrest warrant remained in place and ordered him to submit his reply to a show-cause notice following his continuous absence.

The court order further read that it appears CM Gandapur wants to submit his statement; however, it could not be recorded due to internet connection issues.

The Islamabad court granted another opportunity to CM Gandapur to record his statement before the court in person or via video link.

The hearing was adjourned till July 24.