Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has been taken into custody once again in Gujranwala, shortly after a local court cleared him of corruption charges in two separate cases. The former Punjab chief minister was acquitted in both the cases after a duty judge in Gujranwala announced the court's reserved verdict, clearing the PTI president of the graft charges due to lack of sufficient evidence against him. Two cases had been registered against Elahi in Gujranwala, alleging that he had accepted bribes during the construction of roads in Gujarat. But, shortly after the court announced its verdict, Elahi was re-arrested by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in a case related to fake appointments in the Punjab Assembly. The team departed for Lahore after making the arrest. An ACE spokesperson said the former CM is accused of making 12 illegal Grade 17 appointments in the provincial assembly. According to the spokesperson, the candidates who had failed were appointed after Elahi manipulated the records. Read more: Fawad's pre-arrest bail request dismissed in two cases ACE had taken Elahi into custody with the help of Punjab Police on Thursday from near his Lahore residence, a spokesperson for the interim Punjab government said. Caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir said Elahi had apparently been hiding in his residence and was in his vehicle with family and "trying to flee" when he was arrested. "Yes, he has been arrested from Zahoor Elahi Road. He was arrested while trying to flee," the minister told a private news channel. "Several raids were carried out at his residence. He was wanted. Today, out of the blue, a couple of bullet-proof cars came out [of the house]. He was in one of the cars." Various corruption cases have been registered against the former Punjab chief minister, who is accused of receiving kickbacks for awarding several government development projects during his tenure. Earlier in the day, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore ordered the release of PTI leader Yasmin Rashid, who was arrested in connection with the attack on Jinnah House on May 9. The court discharged Rashid from the case and directed authorities to release her immediately. Rejecting the police's request for Dr Rashid's physical remand, the ATC ordered the removal of her name from FIR number 96/23 registered at the Sarwar Road Police Station. In an unprecedented show of vandalism on May 9, protestors allegedly belonging to the PTI vandalised public and private properties and even attacked the Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence, a historic building which was once the Lahore residence of the founder of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The attack took place hours after paramilitary Rangers personnel arrested PTI chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, later retitled as the £190 million National Crime Agency scandal, on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau, from the Islamabad High Court premises.
from Punjab News Updates and Insights - The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/01sVgW9
No comments:
Post a Comment