— Naqvi criticises ACE Punjab team for ‘storming’ Zahoor Palace
LAHORE: Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday criticised the Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab team for storming the residence of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)’s President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in a bid to arrest former provincial chief executive and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.
The move comes a day after federal government disowned attack on Elahi’s residence in Lahore, commonly called Zahoor Palace.
In an early morning tweet, Naqvi retweeted a video posted by Shujaat’s son Salik Hussain that showed the ACE team at the main door of their residence.
The caretaker CM said in the tweet that he was “appalled to know that [the] team went to arrest Elahi but stormed Shujaat’s house in which Salik Hussain got injured”.
He furthered that “law should take its course”, adding that “no illegal action will be allowed by anyone”.
In the wee hours of Saturday, an ACE Punjab team along with the Lahore police conducted a raid at the former CM’s residence.
The raiding teams remained on the premises for more than three hours during which they took into custody around nine people, but were unable to find Elahi.
Police had sealed off Zahoor Elahi Road at both ends before launching the operation. At the outset, the raiding team had approached the legal team of Elahi, which informed them that the PTI central president had secured protective bail from the court.
When the negotiations between the legal and ACE teams failed, the ARF made an attempt to enter the premises. However, it was met with severe resistance from the workers inside the house.
The police made further attempts to break the gate, as they climbed over the wall but because of stone-pelting, their attempts failed again. Reportedly water mixed with petrol and kerosene oil was also thrown at the police from inside the house.
After multiple failed attempts, the police finally deployed an APC, which tore down the main gate and opened a passage for the police to enter the premises. The police then arrested over seven PTI workers.
The policemen then broke down the windowpanes as well the doors to enter the house. In the drawing room inside, the police met with the female cousins of Elahi, who told them that he was not at home.
After searching Elahi’s house, the police also moved to check the residence of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, which is located in the same sprawling complex that has the same entry point. Shujaat’s son, Salik Hussain, told the police that Elahi was not in their house.
