A two-day physical remand of PTI President Parvez Elahi was granted by a Lahore district and sessions court on Thursday in a case related to illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly.
In a recent development, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had arrested Elahi on charges related to the appointment of Muhammad Khan Bhatti as his principal secretary during his tenure as the chief minister, which was allegedly not in accordance with the law.
Following a series of arrests in the aftermath of the May 9 violence, Elahi has been arrested at least 11 times since June. Earlier on September 1, Islamabad police re-arrested Elahi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) soon after he was released by the LHC.
Today, Elahi appeared before the court of Judicial Magistrate Imran Abid amid stringent security measures.
Ahead of the hearing, Elahi expressed disappointment with what he deemed as preferential treatment for PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz, claiming that they received special reliefs compared to him and his party.
The hearing began with Elahi’s legal team requesting a postponement due to the unavailability of his counsels. However, the investigating officer urged the court to consider the ACE’s arguments, requesting a 14-day physical remand for interrogation.
The court reserved its verdict and subsequently directed the ACE to present Elahi in court on Oct 28.
In a separate development, Elahi was discharged in a sugar mills case due to the lack of evidence. The court ruled that no incriminating material was available to justify Elahi’s physical or judicial remand.
The order clarified that discharging Elahi didn’t signify an acquittal or cancellation of the FIR, leaving room for potential re-arrest based on further investigation.
