— Police seize domestic workers, family women as former Punjab chief minister, on bail, evades arrest
— PTI mulls over decision to continue election date talks with government
— Imran to give ‘roadmap’ to resist government crackdown
LAHORE: The investigators Saturday charged Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi under anti-terrorism legislation after a joint team of the anti-corruption and Lahore police raided the residence of the former chief minister of Punjab in the small hours to arrest him in an investigation in which he is on bail until May 6.
TV footage showed the officials used an armoured vehicle to forcefully enter the sprawling property in the upscale Gulberg neighbourhood of the provincial capital and arrest 12 people, mainly Elahi’s employees, while female police officers took some women into custody.
Videos posted on the internet revealed that the raiding team resorted to physical force, with riot police officers beating the domestic help using batons.
Late night operation: Pakistan’s Punjab Police enters Former Chief Minister Punjab and President PTI Pervaiz Elahi’s house in Lahore. pic.twitter.com/bkkYnyAJEA
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) April 28, 2023
Despite a thorough search of the premises, which commenced around midnight and concluded at 6:00 am on Saturday, the officials failed to locate the president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party.
Speaking with media, Sohail Zafar Chattha, the director general of the anti-corruption bureau of Punjab, maintained the police had not acted illegally, claiming they had been “forced” to react after a “petrol bomb” was thrown on their forces from within Elahi’s residence.
شاباش پنجاب پولیس. اسی لیے چودھری پرویزالٰہی نے بیوروکریٹس کی مرضی کے خلاف آپ کو مراعات دلوائیں pic.twitter.com/P0j5x5G8wW
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) April 29, 2023
Furthermore, the officials also attempted to enter the adjacent residence of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) party. However, the attempt was unsuccessful, as Hussain’s sons resisted the officials’ efforts to gain entry.
Subsequently, a case invoking Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including attempted murder, assault, abetment, rioting, and obstruction of public servants, was registered against Elahi at Ghalib Market police station.
The complaint was filed on the complaint of a duty officer who said the police arrived at Elahi’s residence to make an arrest. However, members of his staff locked the house from the inside, and a large number of people present inside “threatened” the raiding team, “pelted them with stones, and even doused them with petrol,” causing a fire to break out.
As a result, more police contingents were called to control the situation, and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) was used to gain entry into the house.
The report claimed that Elahi escaped using the rear entrance of the house as his supporters and workers baton-charged the police party.
‘DISMANTLING DEMOCRACY’
Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the party, condemned the event and said the opposition party will Saturday decide whether or not to continue the talks with the government to end an impasse over elections in Punjab.
The second round of talks between the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and the party of former prime minister Imran Khan concluded on Friday with both sides agreeing to consult with their respective leaderships before re-convening for a “final” round on Tuesday.
“The attack on Parvez Elahi’s house, keeping Ali Amin Gandapur in wrongful confinement despite being granted bail and workers’ arrests are making the negotiation process meaningless,” Chaudhry said in a tweet.
Separately, responding to the crackdown through a series of tweets early Saturday, Khan promised to provide a “roadmap” to resist the government’s actions against members of his party.
Strongly condemn the illegal raid on Pervez Elahi’s home with no respect to the women & family mbrs present. We are seeing the dismantling of democracy in Pak before our eyes. There is no respect for Constitution, SC verdicts, or fundamental rights of the ppl – only law of jungle
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 28, 2023
Khan strongly denounced the raid on Elahi’s home, saying it showed no respect for the women and family members present.
He further expressed his concerns that the current government was dismantling democracy in Pakistan before their eyes. Khan questioned whether similar action had been taken against the Sharifs and Zardaris, who are currently in power and have faced corruption allegations.
Khan ended his statement by declaring that enough was enough and that he would provide a roadmap to the nation on how to stand up against the destruction of their constitution and democracy.
‘ILLEGAL RAID’
Rasikh Elahi, son of Elahi, filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the raid at his father’s residence. The petition nominated the Punjab government, the anti-corruption bureau’s director general and additional director general, the chief of Punjab police, and senior superintendent and the Model Town superintendent of police as respondents.
The petition sought a declaration from the LHC that the raid was “illegal and violative of the law as well as fundamental rights of the petitioner” and an order directing the respondents to stop the raid.
It also asked the court to order the removal of police from the Zahoor Elahi Road neighbourhood and the petitioner’s house. The plea additionally sought strict action against civil servants who participated in the illegal raid and directions to prevent such incidents in the future.
The petition claimed that 300 to 400 policemen armed with sticks conducted the raid, breaking the main gate of the house with a police van. The police allegedly entered the houses without search warrants.
Rasikh further said in the petition he was told by the anti-corruption bureau’s additional director general that his father had been granted protective bail by the court, which was also confirmed by the Prosecution General’s Office.
