A district court in Lahore, Pakistan, has ordered the detention of Parvez Elahi, the President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, for 14 days. The court denied the request of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for Elahi’s physical remand in a case related to unlawful hirings in the Punjab Assembly. Elahi was brought before the court by ACE officials and taken into custody after the court reserved its decision on the request for physical remand.
The ACE spokesperson stated that the case involves allegations that Elahi recruited 12 Grade-17 officers in the Punjab Assembly without following the proper merit-based process. The ACE has collected evidence and also arrested Secretary Punjab Assembly Rai Mumtaz Hussain in connection with the case.
In its order, the court noted that the ACE sought Elahi’s physical remand to complete the investigation and recover evidence as he was specifically named in the First Information Report (FIR). The court mentioned that Elahi’s mobile phone needed forensic analysis and a bribe of Rs15 million, which he allegedly received as speaker of the Punjab Assembly, needed to be recovered. The court also mentioned the recovery of forged documents.
However, the court observed that all the recruited candidates were still working in the Assembly Secretariat, and no action had been taken against them. It noted that only one complainant approached the ACE for registering an FIR against the selection committee, and no other affected individuals came forward. The court further stated that there was no evidence that the accused tampered with the result and that the accused persons were not the signatories of the final result or any forged documents.
The court concluded that the physical remand request was not justified and ordered that the accused persons be produced in court on June 18. Elahi was sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
During the hearing, Elahi expressed his support for the PTI and called for unity with the army to move the country forward. He urged PTI members and supporters to remain strong and fight against the tactics employed by the authorities.
Following the court’s decision, the ACE Director General stated that they would challenge the discharge of Elahi in the high court. He emphasized that the case against Elahi was genuine and that the judgment discharging him was illegal.
Parvez Elahi had been arrested multiple times in connection with corruption cases and illegal recruitments in the Punjab Assembly. He was initially discharged by a court in Gujranwala but was subsequently arrested again.
