UPDATE - Khan's Opposition Party President Detained By Anti-Corruption Union In Pakistan - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2023) Officials from the anti-corruption union of the Lahore police on Thursday detained Parvez Elahi, the president of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as part of a 70 million rupees corruption case, Pakistani media reported.

Elahi was apprehended when leaving his house, the politician's spokesman, Iqbal Chaudhry was cited as saying by the Geo news broadcaster.

Last week, a Pakistani anti-corruption court revoked Elahi's temporary bail after he failed to appear in court. A judge also found Elahi's medical certificate, which claimed he was experiencing chest pains, to be false, the report said.

The politician is suspected of embezzling funds allocated for the development of the Gujrat district of the Pakistani province of Punjab, where Elahi served as the chief minister from July 2022 until January 2023, Geo News reported.

Later in the day, Khan strongly condemned the detention of Elahi on "completely frivolous charges."

"The manner in which he (Elahi) was arrested and manhandled is also shameful and reprehensible," Khan wrote on Twitter.

The detention of the PTI president comes amid ongoing detentions and arrests of the party's supporters, the dismissal of its leaders, and calls for a total ban of the political organization after mass protests caused by Khan's arrest.

On May 9, Khan was taken into custody on corruption charges. Following the arrest, his supporters started mass protests across the country, which resulted in violent clashes with the police and attacks on government and military facilities. At least eight people died during the protests and about 290 were injured.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared Khan's arrest illegal and released the politician on bail until 31 May on some charges and until June 8 on others. On Wednesday, a court in Islamabad suspended the arrest warrant for the former prime minister until June 19.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rana SanaUllah said last week that 33 people suspected of involvement in the riots had been transferred to military courts. Khan asked the Supreme Court to declare the application of military laws to the actions of civilians in peacetime illegal.