ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President and former Punjab chief minister, Parvez Elahi, has been rearrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (3-MPO) by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police shortly after his release by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
According to local media reports citing sources, the seasoned politician will be detained in Adiala jail for the next 15 days. The sequence of events began earlier today when the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered NAB to release Parvez Elahi. The former provincial chief executive had filed a petition against NAB’s move to arrest him in a corruption case.
LHC Justice Amjad Rafiq delivered the verdict after Elahi was presented before the court. During the hearing, Justice Rafiq issued a stern warning to NAB, stating that the court would issue a warrant against the accountability body’s Director General if Elahi was not produced promptly. The judge emphasized that a comprehensive inquiry into Elahi’s arrest would be conducted, stating, “I am ordering to release Parvez Elahi on an immediate basis.”
LHC Orders NAB to Release Parvez Elahi
Following the hearing, Parvez Elahi expressed his gratitude, saying, “I thank God for the judge’s order for my release, and I thank everyone who prayed for me.”
On August 29, the PTI leader had approached the court to challenge his detention, arguing that his arrest violated the LHC’s orders that prohibited authorities from arresting him in any undisclosed FIR or pending inquiry.
NAB had accused Elahi of receiving over Rs1 billion as kickbacks through intermediaries in more than 200 development projects in the Gujrat district during his second term as chief minister of Punjab.
Elahi’s initial arrest on June 1 was in connection with a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district. Since then, he has faced multiple arrests on various charges. Despite being released on court orders multiple times during the past two and a half months, he was rearrested immediately on each occasion.
