LAHORE: The Lahore High Court rejected the order to stop the police from arresting former Chief Minister Punjab Pervez Elahi.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader made this request when the Lahore High Court heard a petition filed by his son Rasakh Elahi against the police action at his house last week.
During the hearing, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar also issued notices to Inspector General Punjab Police and Director General Anti-Corruption Establishment.
The court adjourned the hearing of the case till May 8 while seeking the details of the cases registered against the former Chief Minister of Punjab.
Police raided Elahi’s residence in Gujarat hours after being rejected by the Lahore High Court, and two days later they conducted a similar raid at his home in Lahore.
Kunjah House, the former chief minister’s residence in Gujarat, was briefly searched by the police, with the Anti-Corruption Department – which was involved in the Lahore raid – denying any involvement.
In a raid on Friday night, anti-corruption and police officials using an armored vehicle broke down the main gate of the PTI president’s Gulberg residence and arrested 19 people, mostly his employees, from the house.
The former chief minister was also booked on terror charges for “attacking” the police during the late-night raid.
The federal government had dissociated itself from the police raid and restrained the provincial authorities from taking the initiative.
The police action took place hours before important talks between the PTI and the multi-party ruling coalition at the Center regarding the elections. The opposition party had already warned that the talks could be derailed if the arrests and raids did not stop.
Moonis Elahi, son of the former chief minister, alleged that although the police did not have a search warrant to raid, they allowed them to enter the premises.
Moonis told the media that the Punjab Police had conducted a similar search at his father’s residence in the past.
Sources told JEE News that law enforcement officials from six to seven police stations had cordoned off the area before the raid.
However, police officers broke through the walls and entered the residence, claiming that their repeated knocks on the door forced them to do so.
