Court Again Delays Indictment Of Parvez Elahi, Others In Illegal Appointments Case

An anti-corruption court on Thursday once again delayed the indictment of former chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and others in a case of illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2024) An anti-corruption court on Thursday once again delayed the indictment of former chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and others in a case of illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly.

Anti-Corruption Court Judge Arshad Hussain conducted the case proceedings, wherein the police produced Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti after bringing them from jail. Several co-accused also appeared and marked their attendance.

During the proceedings, Parvez Elahi's counsel requested the court to delay the indictment in view of lawyers' strike.

The counsel for co-accused submitted that clear copies of challan had not been provided yet whereas an application had also been filed in this regard.

Subsequently, the court adjourned further proceedings till February 26 and sought arguments on application for provision of clear copies of the challan.

In the previous hearing, the court delayed the indictment due to the absence of two co-accused, who requested to exempt them from personal appearance for one-day.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab had registered the case, accusing Parvez Elahi of unlawful appointments and kickbacks. Allegedly, qualified candidates were denied positions while those who had not taken exams were appointed.

The ACE claimed that, as then chief minister, Parvez Elahi misused his authority, influencing appointments after receiving bribes.

Meanwhile, an accountability court also delayed the indictment of Chaudhry Parvez Elah and other accused in a case of receiving kickbacks in development projects by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Accountability Court Judge Zubair Shahzad Kiyani conducted the case proceedings. The police produced the accused, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti, before the court whereas several other accused also attended the proceedings.

The counsel for the accused requested the court to delay the indictment till provision of clear copies of challan, adding that the available copies were not readable.

At this, the court adjourned further hearing till March 6 and directed the police to produce the accused on the next hearing for framing of charges.

The NAB had accused Parvez Elahi and Moonis Elahi of receiving over Rs 1 billion as kickbacks through intermediaries in more than 200 development projects of Gujrat district, during his second term as chief minister Punjab.

It is pertinent to mention here that Moonis Elahi had already been declared proclaimed offender in the case due to continuous absence.