Moonis claims family's Gujrat home raided by police

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and former Punjab chief minister’s son Moonis Elahi has claimed that his family home in Gujrat was raided in the wee hours of Wednesday.

In a tweet, Moonis Elahi said that police showed up at their door "without having a warrant, nor a case".

Implying that intelligence agencies were involved in the raid, he said "I can wrap my head around the 25 police vehicles, but why were there two black Vigos?".

"Were they looking for Indian agents?" he said mockingly.

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The comments mark a significant shift in the leader's stance as the PML-Q is perceived to be a party that prefers to remain in the establishment's good books.

Even on the party's decision to join forces with Imran Khan, Moonis had claimed that his party had only done so after it had been advised by former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa - with whom the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has had a falling out since Imran's ouster.

Elahi to move court

Former Punjab CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi condemned the raid and slammed the government for engaging in "vengeful activities".

"I condemn the illegal police raid on Zahoor Elahi House Kunjah Gujrat," he said in a tweet claiming that "employees were harassed in the middle of the night".

"The caretaker government of two months should refrain from these petty moves," he warned threatening legal action.

The PML-Q leader said that the party will go to court against "these illegal actions of the caretaker government", adding that he has "full faith in an independent judiciary".

Addressing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly in another tweet, Elahi urged him to "respect the sanctity of the home" and warned him that "people would protest outside his own home".

"Mohsin Naqvi's job is to ensure fair and transparent elections," he stressed.

The former CM also regretted that "the rulers have directed police and administration to engage in vengeful actions" while the country is grappling with terrorism.

The raid also comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday declared that PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain would remain the president of the party months after he was stripped of the position following widening rifts with his cousin Pervaiz Elahi.

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The former Punjab CM – who ruled the province thanks to his alliance with PTI – had been eyeing 10 seats in the National Assembly and 30 seats in the provincial assembly in return for a successful electoral coalition and merger with the Imran Khan-led former ruling party.

The ECP's decision, sources say, may potentially have dealt a blow to Parvez Elahi’s purported plans to merge his PML-Q with the PTI heading into the coming polls.

It may be noted that the raid comes days after PTI accused the caretaker Punjab government of 'political persecution' of its party.

Earlier this week, the PTI chief had penned a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan urging him to intervene and protect the "basic rights" of his party leaders, most notably the latest leader to be arrested, Fawad Chaudhry.

The former ruling party has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the appointment of Mohsin Raza Naqvi as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.