Wasim Akram-Plus’ out, Elahi holds ground

QUETTA/LAHORE:

Two former chief ministers of Punjab belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday went on to chalk out two different and opposite political courses with one affirming unflinching loyalty to the party despite challenges while the other opted to part ways with the PTI and announced quitting politics.

The two tales were written in two different provincial capitals – in Quetta where Usman Buzdar read out the old cliched script – announcing his departure from the PTI, as well as active politics, saying that he took the decision due to “personal reasons”, and in Lahore, where Pervaiz Elahi vowed to remain steadfast with the party and stated that he would not 'hold any press conferences', in a thinly-veiled reference to leaders who announced their departure from PTI after being released from prison.

Elahi, who was detained in Lahore on Thursday after a week-long police siege of his residence on Zahoor Elahi Road in Gulberg, was discharged in a corruption case by a Lahore court, only to be re-arrested from outside the court premises by Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Gujranwala in a separate case.

On Friday, the district court discharged the former Punjab chief minister in the corruption case he was arrested in by ACE officials. In the order, the court termed the case against Elahi not “well-founded” as per the ACE investigation and inquiry.

“Therefore, the matter requires further probe and inquiry before levelling any allegation against the accused,” it said and ordered the PTI leader’s “immediate release if not required in any other criminal case”.

“However, the investigation agency may arrest him subsequently if they find incriminating material as per the law,” the court added.
Soon after his discharge, Elahi was taken into custody again by anti-corruption officials in a separate case accusing him of causing a loss of Rs100 million to the national exchequer and receiving kickbacks during his time as Punjab chief minister.

The ACE registered a case against Elahi under different charges including misuse of authority and corruption causing a loss to the national exchequer of over Rs 1 billion.

Elahi’s counsel advocate Rana Intizar questioned who ordered the registration of the first information report (FIR) against Elahi, adding that one Sohail Abbas was being portrayed as the front man but in the same case, a Gujrawala court had discharged Abbas.

Subsequently, the ACE registered another case in Lahore with the same allegations but this time Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Sohail Abbas and others were accused in the case.

The law officer argued that ACE required physical remand to recover further documents and ensure the arrest of other accused persons. He continued that bogus companies were paid dues, projects were executed without approval, contracts were given to their favoured people without adopting due process, and illegal contracts of road patches and constructions were awarded.

The petitioner’s lawyer argued that all relevant record was available and that no substantial evidence was produced before the courts for the allegations levelled against Elahi.

The judge asked Elahi whether he wanted to say something to which Elahi, taking the rostrum, said he has nothing to do with the case. The former Punjab chief minister added that he had been implicated in the “forged case” to be humiliated.
Elahi requested that the court implicate Hamza Shehbaz Sharif in the case, however, the judge maintained that the matter was not his “business”.

Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk after hearing detailed arguments from all sides reserved the decision on ACE’s request for Elahi’s physical remand.
As the judge reserved the decision, the ACE tried to take Elahi to an armoured vehicle. However, the petitioner’s counsels resisted, arguing that Elahi could not be taken outside till the decision of the court came forth.

The ACE officials urged the judge to permit Elahi to be taken to the van and cited security issues as the reason. However, magistrate Virk turned down the ACE’s request.

Elahi vows to remain with PTI

Following his first arrest, Elahi vowed to remain with the PTI.

Talking to journalists at a Lahore courtroom on Friday, Elahi claimed that caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi was the “root” of all riots and deemed him responsible for all “atrocities”. Elahi maintained that he did not lodge any political cases against anyone.

The former Punjab chief minister added that wrongdoers would suffer accordingly. In a message to PTI workers, Elahi urged them to “not back down” and to remain steadfast as they were in the “right”.

The senior PTI leader was presented in a Lahore court in connection with a case of alleged corruption and misuse of powers during development projects.

Usman Buzdar

Addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club, Buzdar strongly condemned the violence during riots that followed the arrest of the PTI chairman on May 9. He termed the incidents a conspiracy against the country and state institutions.

"No sane Pakistani can support such incidents," Buzdar told reporters. “There will be no compromise on the integrity and stability of the country," he added. He said Balochistan was like a second home to him.

“I am resigning from the PTI and have also decided to quit politics,” the former chief minister told reporters at a separate press conference in Lahore earlier. “What happened on May 9 was not right,” he added.

Buzdar expressed solidarity with the Pakistan Army and said that he had always stood by them and would continue to do so in the future as well. He requested the government to release “innocent people” who had been arrested in connection with the May 9 incidents.

Buzdar joins a long list of politicians who have quit the PTI offices, the party itself, or even politics altogether, following the events of May 9. The violence prompted a harsh government crackdown against the rioters.

Buzdar, 54, served as the Punjab chief minister from August 20, 2018 until April 30, 2022. He was elected to the Punjab Assembly in the July 2018 elections. He was the PTI parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly until it was dissolved in January.