On February 18, 2026, Ali Amin Gandapur, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), publicly addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged abduction of PTI social media activist Sanam Javed. In a series of interviews, Gandapur denied any wrongdoing, asserting that Javed had left the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House without informing him, which led to misunderstandings and false accusations against him. He stated, "The lack of security during her outings resulted in an alleged abduction, and I was wrongly implicated," emphasizing that a formal abduction case had been filed and urging the public to refrain from forming opinions without proper investigation. He also mentioned that Javed had stayed at both the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House and the Chief Minister’s House for two months before her alleged kidnapping on October 7, 2025, which was reported to the police by her friend Advocate Hira Babar.