The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to release former chief minister of Punjab Parvez Elahi.
The Punjab’s former chief minister had filed a petition against the NAB move to arrest him in a corruption case.
LHC Justice Amjad Rafiq announced the verdict after Elahi was presented before the court.
In mid-July, Elahi — ordered to be released from Lahore’s Camp Jail where he was incarcerated in a money laundering case — was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance for 30 days.
At the outset of the hearing today, Justice Rafiq asked why Elahi was not presented in court.
In his reply, the NAB prosecutor said the accountability watchdog was prepared to bring the former chief minister to court but it received a letter from the Punjab government today detailing threats to Elahi’s life.
Subsequently, the court ordered the anti-graft body to present the PTI president within an hour and warned that it would otherwise issue arrest warrants for the Punjab DIG.
At around 12:15pm, the NAB presented Elahi in court. Justice Rafiq then ordered Elahi’s release and barred authorities from arresting him in any other case.
After being freed today, Elahi spoke with media and blasted the PML-N for causing the nation’s inflation. After wrecking the economy, “all of them have fled to London,” he claimed.
The PTI president continued, “They have kept me inside, I don’t even know what is happening in the country.”
