PTI President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was arrested on Thursday by the Anti-Corruption Establishment of police in Lahore, the caretaker information minister of the province confirmed to Aaj News.
“Pervaiz Elahi was wanted by police in several cases. This is a case of the Anti-Corruption Establishment case in which his bail was rejected,” Mir said while sharing the details of Pervaiz’s arrest during the live transmission. He added that the DG of the anti-corruption establishment will provide the details in a while.
Pervaiz, the former Punjab chief minister, was taken into custody from his residence Zahoor Palace in the provincial capital of Punjab. His family members were when the police arrested him.
Pakistan is beset by political turmoil as Khan’s party has faced a countrywide crackdown since his own arrest on May 9 for suspected graft sparked widespread protests that saw mobs ransacking state installations, including military assets.
Pervez Elahi joins a long list of key PTI leaders arrested in the security swoop to halt turmoil that has threatened to worsen instability in a country reeling from a crippling financial crisis.
Footage showed that a group of policemen whisked him away from his car to the police vehicle. Different cases have been registered against the Pervaiz in Mandi Bahauddin and Gujranwala.
“Vehicles came out of his [Pervaiz] residence at Zahoor Elahi Road. There were women in one vehicle and Pervaiz Elahi in another. A checkpost was already set up and there were reports that he was hiding in the house so when the vehicle was being searched, the driver refused to open the doors then finally the door was opened and Pervaiz Elahi was present in it,” said Interim Punjab information minister Amir Mir.
When asked about resistance from the driver, Mir replied in the affirmative. He claimed that the former Punjab chief minister wanted to go away as the police had confirmed information that he was inside the car. He added that the door was opened when the police tried to break the window.
Pervaiz Elahi was with his family when a large contingent of police raided and the former chief minister was taken into custody, said a spokesperson of the family.
The spokesperson alleged that the policemen misbehaved with the family members. He claimed that the PTI president was arrested without any warrant.
It was the seventh day when one of the roads leading to Pervaiz’s house was closed by the police. A heavy contingent of police was deployed on another route to the house after a court rejected the former chief minister’s bail in a graft case.
In previous attempts, the police have failed to arrest Pervaiz.
According to the spokesperson, Pervaiz was arrested the moment he came out of the house.
Mir clarified that the medical was conducted on court orders otherwise not. “He will be kept with honour as he is a senior politician. If needed, he will be given a medical facility,” he added.
Pervaiz would be taken to jail before being sent to anti-corruption custody, said the minister.
Mir went on to add that there was nothing confirmed yet on whether any case was registered against him related to May 9 events.
To a query on any signs of a situation where PTI leaders will address a press conference after their arrest, Mir said that such pressers were held in the federal capital and they have no role in it.
Lahore has two police stations of the anti-corruption department where Pervaiz can be kept, said Aaj News Bureau Chief Saleem Sheikh. But he was of the view that the former chief minister would be kept in a “safe location” as it was a high profile case common people’s access was limited.
One of the anti-corruption cases is related to “receiving kickbacks” in development schemes. He had got bailed on the case, however, it was later cancelled on his non-appearance in court. Moreover, his medical report, which claimed he was sick, was challenged in court by the government.
The caretaker set-up challenged the veracity of the report, saying that the surgery doctor can only issue a medical report when conducting any operation. The administration of Civil Hospital had told the court the medical was “fake”.
His bail from the high court was also not entertained upon his non-appearance in the court. Pervaiz was considered to be an “absconder” upon cancellation of his bails. Sheik added that cancellation of bail was kind of a warrant.
Separately, Mir told Reuters that Punjab’s anti-corruption department had been looking for Elahi for several days. Elahi previously denied accusations of corruption.
In reaction, the PTI said that at a time when the inflation has skyrocketed to 38%, the government was arresting former Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi.
“Shameful how the regime doesn’t stop their fascism. The inflation has skyrocketed to 38%, and their response is arresting former CM Punjab Parvez Elahi. Absolutely ridiculous!” it tweeted and shared the video of police action.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan condemned the arrest.
PTI chief Khan was freed on bail on May 12 for an initial two weeks, obtained a three-day bail extension from a high court and later a further extension from the trial court until June 19.
Dozens of top and mid-tier leaders in the PTI have been arrested alongside hundreds of Khan supporters since the violent protests of May 9. Many have quit the party after being released while other leaders remain on the run to avoid arrest.
Khan, who denies wrongdoing, says the arrests are part of a campaign to dismantle his party and that the state is using pressure tactics to force out his aides. The government denies this and says his aides were leaving of their own volition.
Khan has been embroiled in a tussle with Pakistan’s military since he was removed from power last year in a parliamentary no-confidence vote he says was orchestrated by the country’s top generals. The military denies this.
Moonis Elahi, the son of Pervaiz, said that they would remain with the Khan-led party.
In a tweet, he claimed that his parents had repeated the same thing to him even if his father is arrested. Moonis claimed that the former Punjab chief minister was arrested on false charges.
(With input from Reuters)
