Court stops officers’ salaries for not producing Elahi

Ex-CM petitions SC for bail hearing; says he is facing ‘political revenge’

LAHORE:

A special central court on Wednesday ordered the Punjab accountant general to stop the salaries of the provincial home secretary, inspector general of police (IGP), and inspector general of prisons for not producing former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi during the hearing of a money laundering case.

The court imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on each officer and also issued show-cause notices to them for August 5.

Special Court Judge Bakht Fakhr Behzad conducted the proceedings of the money laundering case against Elahi and others.

Earlier, the court expressed displeasure over not producing Elahi, directing to produce him by 3pm.

The court observed that strict action would be taken if the court orders were not complied with.

As the court resumed proceedings at 3pm, DIG Operations Ali Nasir Rizvi, Adiala Jail deputy superintendent, and other officials appeared.

To a court query about Elahi, the DIG informed that a police team was standing outside Adiala Jail but the accused was not being handed over.

He submitted that the Punjab Home Department gave approval for shifting of the accused to Rawalpindi.

At this stage, the Adiala Jail deputy superintendent apprised the curt that permission was sought from the competent authority for producing Elahi and the reply was still awaited.

However, the court rejected the explanations by the officials, expressing serious annoyance over not producing Elahi.

Read Police failure to release Elahi irks court

The court also questioned the shifting of Elahi without its approval.

Later, the court ordered to stop the salaries of Punjab home secretary, IGP and prisons IG and issued show-cause notices to them besides imposing fines.

‘Political revenge’

Elahi filed a miscellaneous petition in the Supreme Court (SC), urgently seeking a hearing on his bail application.

In the petition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central president asserted that the petitioner was facing “political revenge” at the hands of law enforcement agencies.

He claimed that false accusations and inquiries were being used to implicate him as soon as the caretaker Punjab government assumed power.

The petition highlighted that a single-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) had previously granted the petitioner 10-day anticipatory bail.

This order explicitly stated that the petitioner should not be arrested in any unknown case.

The petitioner had already obtained post-arrest bail in all the cases that were listed against him.

Elahi argued in the miscellaneous petition that he was a victim of “malicious framing”, and his fundamental rights to life and liberty were continually being violated.

The petitioner sought the apex court's intervention to overturn the division bench of the high court's decision on July 17 and expedite the hearing, considering the importance of justice.