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Lahore court remands Elahi to NAB’s custody in bribery case

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  • Judge Zubair Shehzad Kiyani presides over the hearing.
  • Court approves seven-day physical remand of Elahi.
  • Court directs NAB to submit response to PTI president’s plea.

LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore Tuesday remanded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi to National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody till August 21 in a case of bribery over development project contracts.

The former Punjab chief minister — who has been detained back-to-back — was arrested yet again by NAB officials shortly after being released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Monday night.

However, as soon as the PTI president walked free, the NAB officials apprehended him and presented him before Judicial Magistrate Khalid Hayat to seek his transitory remand.

Today the NAB officials, whose request for the transitory remand was accepted last night, presented Elahi before a Lahore court.

The accountability court judge, Zubair Shehzad Kiyani, presided over the hearing in Lahore. 

During the hearing, Special Prosecutor Waris Janjua sought Elahi’s 14-day physical remand on NAB’s behalf. He informed the court that a supplementary grant of Rs72 billion was issued for specific sectors of Gujrat under Elahi as Punjab CM. 

Others facing charges in the same case have been remanded, he added.

At this, the court approved a seven-day physical remand — half as requested by the prosecution — of Elahi, who sought permission to meet his wife and son.

However, the court directed NAB to submit a response to the PTI president’s plea.

Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 from outside his residence in an Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.

Since then, the former Punjab chief minister has been behind bars on various charges. During a span of around two and half months, the PTI leader was released multiple times on the courts’ orders but was re-arrested immediately every time.

The PTI president was taken into custody during a crackdown launched against the party’s leadership following the May 9 riots.

The riots were triggered almost across the country after the PTI chairman’s arrest in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 which led to the deaths of at least eight people and injured several others, prompting the authorities to arrest thousands of PTI workers.

During the protests, the miscreants attacked the civil and military installations including — Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House) in Lahore Cantt and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

The military called May 9 “Black Day” and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed May 9 as the “darkest day in the [country’s] history” and announced to try the suspects in the military courts.

The National Security Committee had also endorsed the decision of the top brass to act against rioters under the Army Act.

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The PPP and PML-N will confer on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab today.

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The coordination committees of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are scheduled to convene today at the Governor’s House in Lahore to deliberate on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab.

The PPP delegation would comprise Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Hassan Murtaza, and Ali Haider Gilani.

Ishaq Dar, Azam Nazir Tarar, Rana Sanaullah, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, and Maryam Aurangzeb will represent the PML-N.

The conference will discuss local issues in Punjab and offer a forum for the PPP to express its concerns over its collaboration with PML-N in the province.

Both parties seek to fortify their partnership and optimize governance techniques in Punjab.

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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