LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday was granted a four-day extension in the physical remand of Punjab’s former chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in a case related to alleged kickbacks in development projects.
Earlier, NAB officials produced Elahi before the accountability court on the expiry of his physical remand.
At the outset of today’s hearing, Elahi’s counsel — in response to the NAB’s allegation — apprised the court that PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, his client’s cousin, had deposited Rs120 million in Elahi’s bank account.
The NAB’s prosecutor pleaded with the court to extend the physical remand of the PTI leader for another 14 days to complete the investigations. The court, however, extended the physical remand of Elahi till September 2.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) reserved its verdict on a plea seeking implementation of its earlier order restraining the authorities from arresting Elahi in any undisclosed FIR or pending inquiry.
Earlier today, the PTI leader moved the court to challenge his detention “in violation of the LHC’s order”. In his plea, Elahi requested the court to ensure implementation of its previous verdict and declare his arrest null and void.
NAB accused Elahi of receiving over Rs1 billion as kickbacks through intermediaries in more than 200 development projects of Gujrat district, during his second term as chief minister of Punjab.
Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 from outside his residence in a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.
Since then, the former Punjab chief minister has been behind bars on various charges. During a span of around two and half months, the PTI leader was released multiple times on the courts’ orders but was re-arrested immediately every time.
The PTI president was taken into custody during a crackdown launched against the party’s leadership following the May 9 riots.
