LAHORE: The incarcerated PTI President, Parvez Elahi, said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s political and economic conditions could improve only after a dialogue with former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan.

Talking to the reporters during his appearance in a corruption case before an accountability court, he advised all political parties to play their role in bringing stability to the country.

He said all issues can be resolved through negotiations, but it seemed the PML-N was not serious about it, adding that there were two conflicting narratives within the Sharifs’ party with regard to initiating a dialogue with the opposition.

Mr Elahi said fear of Imran Khan’s release was not allowing the ‘fake’ rulers to be at ease.

The PTI president said Imran Khan supported negotiations for the sovereignty and development of Pakistan. “These incompetent rulers could not keep him [Imran Khan] in jail for long,” he claimed.

Earlier, accountability court Judge Zubair Shahzad Kiyani deferred the indictment of Mr Elahi and other suspects in the reference till May 29.

The judge allowed an application of Mr Elahi and directed the prosecution team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to provide him copies of other suspects’ statements before the next hearing.

The judge also allowed another application of the former chief minister for his medical tests and summoned the reports from the jail doctors before May 21.

The NAB alleged that Muhammad Khan Bhatti, the principal secretary to then chief minister Elahi, maneuvered the award of contracts in favour of some contractors, in connivance with other suspects, including government officials.

It said the suspect released full payment to the contractors even before the commencement of construction work, only to receive kickbacks.

The bureau alleged that money from the corruption committed by Bhatti had been transferred into the bank accounts of Mr Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi.

MEDICAL BOARD: A special court (central) has directed the medical superintendent of the Services Hospital to constitute a medical board to examine the health of PTI President Parvez Elahi.

In a written order of last hearing in a money laundering case, Judge Tanvir Ahmad Sheikh ordered the jail superintended to ensure production of the former chief minister before the medical board.

The judge also directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to ensure swift compliance of the court’s directions for issuance of a red notice for Moonis Elahi, who has been declared a proclaimed offender in the case.

The judge sought a progress report from the FIA by May 21.

The FIA registered the case of alleged money laundering against Moonis and his family after he left the country.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024