ISLAMABAD: Former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Chaudhary Pervez Elahi was transferred to the hospital from Adiala Jail on Saturday due to heart issues.
According to Adiala Jail officials, Elahi underwent an initial examination at the jail hospital, following which he was relocated to Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology due to heart troubles. Officials disclosed that Elahi had been experiencing heart pain since the previous night, coupled with a chest infection.
In October, authorities at Adiala Jail had informed a special central court that Elahi was medically unfit to appear before it.
The court was hearing a case against Elahi and others, involving various charges such as money laundering. The case questioned the flow of millions of rupees into the bank account of a low-wage employee of the Punjab Assembly, as well as inexplicable banking transactions.
A prolonged legal battle unfolded between Elahi and government authorities. In September, Islamabad police re-arrested the former Punjab chief minister under terrorism charges, shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered his release.
Elahi had been apprehended on September 1 in Lahore, following an order by a judicial magistrate under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance. Subsequently, he was initially detained at Punjab Attock Jail for 15 days and later shifted to Adiala Jail.
This arrest came hours after Elahi’s release from the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The timing was surprising, as earlier on the same day, the LHC had explicitly prohibited authorities from arresting the PTI leader in any case.
Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court rejected a petition filed by Elahi’s wife, seeking contempt proceedings against police officers who failed to comply with the court’s order restraining the arrest of the PTI leader in any case. The court emphasised the value of forgiveness in Islam.
