Police are seen taking three household servants at former Punjab CM Parvez Elahi’s residence on April 29, 2023. Screengrab of a news channel Twitter video.
The Punjab police Friday conducted a raid on the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi to arrest him. The PTI has strongly criticised the police’s actions, voicing concerns regarding arrests of its workers and leaders.
After the more than five-hour-long operation, the police and anti-corruption officials partially halted their operation, claiming that although Elahi is not present at his residence, his mobile phone’s location shows that he is present there. But after information from the arrested people, they resumed it.
Twelve individuals, reportedly most of them servants working in the household of the former Punjab chief minister, have been arrested by the police.Ā Moreover, several PTI workers protesting at the scene were also arrested.
The raid comes hours after the PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government held talks on election dates, with the former calling for stopping of their workers’ arrests, warning that the talks might derail if the law enforcers’ actions do not come to a halt.
Analysts said that the pressure tactics of the authorities are giving a boost to PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s popularity, noting that none of the members from the government’s side has faced such late-night raids so far.
Accompanied by the anti-corruption officials, a heavy contingent of police raided the residence of former chief minister in Lahore. The police cordoned off the Chaudhary Zahoor Elahi Road outside the residence during the overnight operation.
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) of police broke the main gate of the residence after the people inside the house resisted the law enforcers and tried to stop the arrest. Police claim that stones were pelted at them, which injured police personnel and journalists covering the incident.
SP Ammara Shirazi, accompanied by a team of female police officers, entered Elahi’s house and conducted a raid. They came back from the house after a brief search.
‘No search warrant required’
According to Elahi’s lawyer Amir Saeed, the police officials intended to arrest his client, despite him having been granted bail in a case by the Lahore High Court (LHC). Officials from the anti-corruption department then demanded to see the court’s bail order during the raid.
Speaking to the media, Elahi’s lawyer stated that LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh had granted his client pre-arrest bail until May 6. Saeed added that the order of the high court is always received on the next day. “We have made them talk to the court’s official over the issue,” he said.
Anti-corruption department told the media that the law enforcers have raided the house to inform the PTI president that he had not received bail in the case, but due to the resistance faced from inside, police had to take action.
The officials said that the law enforcers would not leave the location until Elahi’s arrest as the location shows him here. “Search warrant is not required [in this case].”
Without giving further details, the officials said that a case has been registered against Elahi in Gujranwala.
No rule of law in country: Moonis Elahi
Moonis Elahi, son of former Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, also slammed the police action, saying that the Punjab police have arrived at their residence to arrest his father, despite him being granted bail in the case earlier today.
Elahi’s bail hearing had been widely covered by the media, he said in a tweet today.
Moonis has also cited the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent statement regarding the rule of law in Pakistan, agreeing with him that it has indeed come to an end in the country.
Raid on Elahi’s house illegal: Imran Khan
PTI chief Imran Khan has strongly condemned the police action against Parvez Elahi, saying that it was an illegal raid on his home, with no regard for the presence of women and family members.
Taking to Twitter, Khan expressed his concern regarding the dismantling of democracy in Pakistan, asserting that the Constitution, Supreme Court’s verdicts, and fundamental rights of the people are being disrespected, and the law of the jungle is being imposed.
Imran Khan alleged that the London Plan was being used to crush his party’s morale. He said that his own residence was attacked and now the same is being done to Pervez Elahi by a group of corrupt individuals and their handlers.
Expressing his outrage, Khan remarked that he had never witnessed such barbarism, not even during Musharraf’s martial law. He questioned whether the state would dare raid the homes of the looters and money launderers such as the Sharif and Zardari families in the same manner.
Declaring that enough is enough, Khan announced that he would present a roadmap to the nation on how to resist the destruction of Pakistan’s constitution and democracy.
Fawad condemns raid
Fawad Chaudhry, the Senior Vice-President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has criticised the late-night raid on the residence of the party’s president.
Chaudhry, taking to Twitter, said that the police action serve as evidence that government ministers — Ishaq Dar, Saad Rafique, and Azam Nazeer Tarar — have no credibility in their government.
Chaudhry condemned the raid on behalf of the PTI, expressing the party’s strong disapproval of the incident.
Ali Zaidi terms police raid as state terrorism
PTI Sindh President Ali Zaidi has condemned the police action at Elahi’s residence, labelling it as ‘state terrorism’. Zaidi alleged that the government is using the police force to unleash terror against PTI.
He criticised the government for negotiating with the PTI on the one hand, while using excessive force to break down doors and enter their homes on the other. Zaidi also expressed concern that the country was being pushed towards anarchy.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the gate which the police had crushed during the raid is also used by Chaudhary Shujaat.Ā
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