Web Desk
PTI President Parvez Elahi was arrested by anti-corruption officials from Lahore outside his home, according to a report.
The former Punjab chief minister was taken into custody by anti-corruption personnel after his car was stopped near Zahoor Elahi’s residence in Lahore’s Gulberg area.
Elahi’s spokesperson has confirmed the arrest.
This development follows an anti-corruption court’s decision last week to reject Elahi’s interim bail due to his failure to appear before the court on health grounds.
He was arrested in connection with a corruption case involving the embezzlement of Rs70 million in development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.
Also read,
PTI’s Pervez Khattak steps down from party position
The anti-corruption court judge also deemed Elahi’s medical certificate, which claimed he was experiencing chest pain, as fake.
An anti-corruption spokesperson stated that Elahi was apprehended while attempting to flee and mentioned that he was wanted in several corruption cases.
The spokesperson further explained that Elahi’s arrest was made because his bail was rejected by the court for submitting a fraudulent medical certificate.
According to Elahi’s driver’s statement to the police, the PTI leader was allegedly trying to escape to Gilgit Baltistan with a convoy of four vehicles.
The driver stated that Elahi was not traveling in a bulletproof vehicle and mentioned that the police tried to break the car’s window after Elahi refused to open the door.
Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir, in an interview with Geo News, confirmed that Elahi was wanted by the anti-corruption police in a corruption case.
Mir stated that Elahi was attempting to flee from his residence when the police intercepted his vehicle and arrested him, adding that resistance was encountered during the arrest, but the police successfully apprehended him.
The PTI leader’s spokesperson mentioned that Elahi’s son Rasikh and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s sister were also present during the arrest.
Elahi’s arrest comes in the wake of the arrest of numerous PTI leaders and workers since the violent protests erupted across the country on May 9.
The crackdown on PTI leadership following the May 9 riots has led to a wave of defections within the former ruling party, with prominent figures such as Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aami Mehmood Kiani, Ali Zaidi, and others parting ways with the party in protest against the violent protests.
Elahi was appointed as the PTI president in March of this year, just a month after he and ten former MPAs left the PML-Q to join the PTI.
Moonis Elahi, the PTI president’s son, who is active in politics and played a significant role in convincing his father to join the PTI, stated that his father was arrested in a false case.
Moonis added that his parents had already advised them to support the PTI even if they were arrested.
