In Lahore, a single bench of the Lahore High Court has directed former Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi to appear before the court within one hour.
The petition against Parvez Elahi’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was heard by Justice Amjad Rafiq. In yesterday’s court session, the NAB prosecutor had assured that Parvez Elahi would be presented at 10 am on Friday. However, despite the court’s order, Parvez Elahi was once again not brought before the court.
When the hearing began, the court asked the NAB prosecutor to explain Parvez Elahi’s whereabouts and why he had not been brought to court. In response, Punjab government’s lawyer Ghulam Sarwar Nahang claimed that NAB had sent letters to the Punjab government regarding security, but they had not received a written order for the hearing scheduled for the next day.
The court confirmed that the written order had indeed been issued the previous day, indicating that Parvez Elahi had not been offered. The NAB prosecutor argued that they were ready to present Parvez Elahi but cited serious threats to his life as the reason for the delay.
Justice Amjad Rafiq expressed frustration, stating that the court’s authority must be respected. He once again ordered that Parvez Elahi be produced within an hour and criticized the back-and-forth between the parties. The court instructed the government to cooperate with NAB and present Parvaiz Elahi. However, it warned that if Parvez Elahi was not produced, the Director-General of NAB would issue an arrest warrant.
