Lahore High Court (LHC) issued an order on Friday instructing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to release Pervez Elahi, the former chief minister of Punjab, who had been detained in a corruption case, as reported by Geo News.
The President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had filed a petition challenging NAB’s decision to arrest him in connection with a corruption case.
LHC Justice Amjad Rafiq delivered the verdict after Pervez Elahi was presented before the court.
During the proceedings, Justice Rafiq warned NAB that if Pervez Elahi was not presented, the court would issue a warrant against the Director-General of the accountability body.
Justice Rafiq also announced that a thorough investigation into his arrest would be conducted, stating, “I am ordering the immediate release of Pervez Elahi.”
After the hearing, Pervez Elahi expressed his gratitude, saying, “I thank God for the judge’s order for my release, and I thank everyone who prayed for me.”
On August 29, the PTI leader had approached the court to challenge his detention, arguing that his arrest violated LHC’s orders prohibiting authorities from arresting him in any undisclosed FIR or pending inquiry.
NAB had accused Pervez Elahi of receiving more than Rs1 billion in kickbacks through intermediaries in over 200 development projects in Gujrat district during his second term as chief minister of Punjab.
Pervez Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 in connection with a Rs70 million graft case related to the misappropriation of development funds allocated for Gujrat district. Since then, the former Punjab chief minister has been detained on various charges. Despite being released multiple times on court orders during a span of approximately two and a half months, he was promptly re-arrested each time. His initial detention occurred during a crackdown on the party’s leadership following the May 9 riots.