LAHORE: A special court for anti-corruption on Wednesday gave a last opportunity to PTI President Parvez Elahi to appear for indictment in a case of illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly as the prosecution sought cancellation of his bail.

Earlier, judge Sardar Iqbal Dogar expressed displeasure over the extended absence of Mr Elahi in the trial proceedings.

A lawyer for Elahi informed the court that doctors had advised his client to take seven days of bed rest.

The judge observed that Elahi was also absent during the last hearing, warning that such practice cannot continue.

ATC disposes of bail pleas of eight PTI activists in Jinnah House case

A prosecutor urged the court to cancel the bail granted to Mr Elahi as his absence had been causing a delay in the trial.

The defence lawyer assured the court to present the former chief minister at next hearing.

Giving a last opportunity to Mr Elahi to appear before the court, the judge adjourned the hearing till Dec 18.

The prosecution presented former principal secretary to the chief minister Muhammad Khan Bhatti, a co-suspect in the case, before the court.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) alleged that illegal appointments of BS-17 posts were made in the assembly when Mr Elahi was the chief minister and co-suspect Khan Bhatti was his principal secretary in 2021.

The prosecution said favourite candidates were appointed to the posts despite being declared failed in the written examination. The appointed candidates had also been nominated as suspects in the case.

The indictment of Mr Elahi in different cases has been delayed by the relevant courts for several months due to his continuous absence in the trial hearings on medical grounds before and after his release on bail as well.

Besides the charges of illegal appointment in the assembly, he faces a NAB reference of receiving kickbacks in development funds and a money laundering case registered by the FIA.

Jinnah House case: A joint investigation team (JIT) of police on Wednesday told an anti-terrorism court that eight PTI activists had been found innocent while four others guilty in the Jinnah House attack.

A representative of the JIT submitted a report before the court during hearing of the pre-arrest bail petitions filed by the suspects.

He said the suspects, including Tauseef Khanum, Sadia Ayub, Sarwat Shahid, Nadra Umar, Waheed Rehman, Sajid Prince, Bilal and Farhana Farooq, had been found innocent in the investigation.

At this, the lawyers of those declared innocent requested to withdraw bail applications based on the JIT’s findings.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill accepted the request and disposed of the bail petitions.

The JIT representative further told the court that four women, including Hajra Niazi, a niece of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, had been found guilty in the case. The judge extended interim bail of these four women till Jan 15 and sought arguments from their lawyers.

Previously, the JIT found as many as 23 PTI activists innocent in the Jinnah House attack case, prompting the court to dispose of their bail pleas.

Sarwar Road police had registered the FIR against the PTI leaders and workers for attacking and vandalising the corps commander’s residence during the May 9 riots of the last year against the arrest of former premier Imran Khan by the NAB in a graft case.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2024