A strategy has been chalked out to arrest last year’s May 9 violence nine proclaimed offenders, including PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur, who was elected as a parliamentarian in the general elections 2024.

A day earlier, PTI founding chairman and former premier Imran Khan nominated Gandapur for the slot of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister.

Apart from Gandapur, PTI leaders Mian Aslam Iqbal and Sheikh Imtiaz, who emerged victorious in the recent polls, were also declared proclaimed offenders by in connection with last year’s May 9 riots and would be rounded up by police.

The Lahore police, along with officials from a joint investigation team (JIT), have stepped up their efforts to nab 22 PTI leaders and 282 activists who were declared proclaimed offenders by the courts for their alleged involvement in the May 9 mayhem.

According to JIT sources, advanced techniques including geo-fencing, mobile tracking and IP address tracing were being used to locate the proclaimed offenders.

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They added that the proclaimed offenders, who had bagged seats in the recent general elections, would be rounded up in accordance with the law.

The JIT sources said the proclaimed offenders, who participated in the recent elections, were in frequent touch with campaign activists and their supporters throughout the polls as well as during the announcement of the results.

This ongoing communication has provided the police and JIT with valuable information about the whereabouts of the proclaimed offenders, facilitating the implementation of the arrest plan.

The assistance of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other agencies is being sought to locate the proclaimed offenders.

On September 30 last year, an anti-terrorism court declared Gandapur and eight other PTI leaders as proclaimed offenders in the case of an attack on Lahore Jinnah’s House, where the city’s corps commander was residing.

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Lahore’s Sarwar Road police had registered an FIR against the PTI leaders and activists following the attack during the May 9 riots.

Gandapur served as the federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan from October 5, 2018, to April 10, 2022.

Before his tenure at the federal level, Gandapur was a member of the K-P Assembly from 2013 to 2018.

During his time in the provincial assembly, he held the position of K-P revenue minister.

Gandapur hails from a Pashtun family in Dera Ismail Khan, with his father, Major (retd) Aminullah Gandapur, also having played a role in politics.