PTI President Parvez Elahi was detained to the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for one week in connection with a case involving the alleged award of fraudulent contracts during his second tenure as the Chief Minister of Punjab. This case was heard in an accountability court in LAHORE.
Elahi was brought before Judge Zubair Shahzad Kayani on Tuesday, with extra precautions taken to ensure his safety. The PTI leader was nabbed by NAB on Tuesday, just minutes after leaving Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail after serving his 30-day sentence.
Elahi’s attorney, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz, asked the judge for five minutes to address the court before the hearing began. The judge signed off on the request.
At the outset of the proceedings, NAB Special Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua asked the court to order the PTI leader to remain in NAB custody for another 14 days. He claimed that four suspects had been apprehended as a result of the investigation.
Elahi’s bail application will be heard by the Supreme Court on August 16.
Gujrat division, which is also his native seat, will receive a development package worth Rs72 billion, he stated as Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi made the announcement. He said that a list of over 200 projects had been compiled and approved on a fast-track basis in defiance of the laws and regulations.
Janjua claimed that Elahi had taken bribes from the construction companies. Even before construction had begun, he had money released for use on the projects. He further stated that NAB has substantial evidence indicating that this was a criminal act.
The defence attorney for Elahi argued that the court should remand his client to NAB’s custody until Monday because his clients’ appeals against arrest were still pending with the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court. However, the NAB prosecutor asked the court to keep the ex-Chief Minister of Punjab in detention for another 14 days.
The court heard the parties’ arguments at length before granting NAB custody of the PTI leader until August 21. At the next hearing, the judge ordered NAB representatives to bring him in.
Lahore police and the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) made the initial arrest of the PTI president on June 1. He was released, only to be re-arrested several times.
Former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, former provincial minister Ali Afzal Sahi, and Elahi’s son Moonis Elahi were all the subjects of formal investigations begun by NAB on June 9.
Over Rs1 billion in illegal payments were allegedly obtained by the accused through middlemen in 226 contracts, according to the anti-corruption watchdog.
