President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Parvez Elahi, was apprehended by anti-corruption officials from Lahore near his residence on Thursday.
Elahi, the ex-Chief Minister of Punjab, was stopped near Zahoor Elahi’s residence in the Gulberg region of Lahore and detained by the anti-corruption team. His representative verified this incident.
The arrest follows last week’s rejection of Elahi’s interim bail by an anti-corruption court due to his no-show, attributed to health problems. Elahi was implicated in a corruption case involving misappropriating development funds for the Gujrat district, amounting to Rs70 million.
The judge also dismissed Elahi’s medical certificate, which stated that he suffered from chest pains, as false. The anti-corruption spokesman stated that Elahi was arrested while attempting to escape, adding that he is a suspect in various corruption cases.
The spokesperson elaborated that Elahi’s arrest was necessitated when the court rejected his bail due to a counterfeit medical certificate.
Punjab’s interim Information Minister, Amir Mir, has confirmed the arrest and said that Elahi was sought by the anti-corruption police regarding a corruption allegation. Mir claimed that Elahi was trying to escape from his home when his car was intercepted by police, who subsequently arrested him despite some resistance.
The spokesman for the PTI leader stated that Rasikh Elahi, the son of Elahi, and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s sister, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), were with Elahi during the arrest.
This arrest is among a wave of apprehensions involving hundreds of PTI leaders and members following violent nationwide protests since May 9. This enforcement action against PTI leadership, initiated after the May 9 riots, led to significant departures from the former governing party, including prominent figures such as Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aami Mehmood Kiani, and Ali Zaidi.
Elahi was named PTI president in March of this year, a month after he and ten other former Members of the Provincial Assembly left the PML-Q to join the PTI.
Moonis Elahi, the son of the PTI president who is politically active and persuaded his father to join the PTI, asserted that his father’s arrest was based on false charges. Moonis added that his parents had already urged them to continue supporting the PTI despite their arrest.
