LAHORE:
A magisterial court in Lahore on Tuesday rejected the request by the anti-corruption authorities to grant Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Pervez Elahi’s physical remand.
Instead, the former Punjab chief minister has been placed on judicial remand in connection with two cases, involving allegations related to the appointment of a lower-scale officer as his principal secretary and illegal recruitments within the Punjab Assembly.
Elahi was brought to court under tight security by the anti-corruption police, who were seeking his physical remand to facilitate further investigation into the matter.
The PTI leader’s legal counsel strongly opposed the request for remand. Advocate Amir Saeed Rawn pointed out that the prosecutor was not presenting arguments in the case that necessitated Elahi’s remand.
Read more: Elahi finds himself behind bars again
In response, a lawyer representing the anti-corruption agency argued that they required his remand for two separate cases. One case pertains to the appointment of Muhammad Khan Bhatti as the principal secretary during Elahi’s tenure as Punjab chief minister, while the second case relates to alleged illegal recruitments in the Punjab Assembly.
Another counsel for Elahi, Rana Intizar Hussain, raised the point that the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted protective bail to Elahi in the Punjab Assembly’s recruitment case, yet the anti-corruption police were insisting on his remand in that very case.
The anti-corruption lawyer countered by asserting that the illegal recruitment case was a significant scandal that warranted Elahi’s physical remand for a thorough investigation. The lawyer argued that the anti-corruption agency needed access to recruitment records and to trace the money involved in this matter.
Elahi’s legal team questioned the legality of his arrest, arguing that the LHC had prohibited the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and any other authorities, agency, or office from detaining Elahi under any preventive detention law. They claimed that his repeated arrests indicated malicious intent on the part of the police.
With over ten FIRs registered against Elahi, his legal team contended that the root cause of these actions was his reluctance to hold a press conference. They argued that all these problems would cease if Elahi gave the green light for the press conference.
Also read: Elahi’s wife moves SC for her husband’s release
After considering arguments from both sides, Judicial Magistrate Imran Abid initially reserved his decision. Subsequently, he rejected the anti-corruption agency’s request for physical remand in the two cases and ordered that Chaudhry Pervez Elahi be placed on judicial remand.
Talking to the media following the hearing, Elahi, while expressing his views on the current political landscape, characterised the caretaker government as an extension of the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) administration.
Elahi laid the blame for inflation and the economic crisis squarely on the shoulders of former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, asserting that their flawed policies had left the underprivileged with no recourse but to face dire economic hardship, even resorting to extreme measures such as suicide.
Expressing deep concern about the prevailing situation in the country, Elahi drew a comparison between Pakistan and Afghanistan, suggesting that Afghanistan was making more progress than Pakistan.
He vehemently denied any claims of an agreement between PTI Chairman Imran Khan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which resulted in current economic challenges facing Pakistan.
Source link: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2436716/request-for-elahis-physical-remand-turned-down