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An accountability court in Lahore on Tuesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seven-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in a case related to bribery in awarding development project contracts.
During proceedings, Special Prosecutor Waris Janjua sought Elahi’s 14-day physical remand on NAB’s behalf from Judge Zubair Shehzad Kiyani. He informed the court that a supplementary grant of Rs. 72 billion was issued for specific sectors of Gujrat under Elahi during his stint as chief minister of Punjab last year and this was under investigation.
The lawyer argued that Elahi’s alleged accomplices in the same case had been granted remands and the former chief minister’s remand was likewise required. The court then granted a seven-day physical remand of Elahi, until Aug. 21. It also directed NAB to submit a response to the PTI president’s plea to be allowed to meet his wife and son while in custody.
A day earlier, Elahi was released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after the expiry of a detention under the Maintenance of Public Order issued by the Punjab government. However, he was re-apprehended by NAB officials shortly after stepping foot outside prison. He was then presented before Judicial Magistrate Khalid Hayat for transitory remand to Lahore.
The PTI president was initially taken into custody from outside his Lahore residence in a Rs. 70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for Gujrat district. Despite being granted bail on multiple occasions, Elahi has remained behind bars on various charges over the past two-and-a-half months, being re-arrested every time he goes free.