A single-judge bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), headed by JusticeMuhammad Amjad Rafiq, convened on Wednesday to address a petition submittedby Elahi. The petition aimed to contest his “unlawful” apprehension by thenation’s primary anti-corruption agency. Filed on Tuesday, the petitionreferred to an LHC directive issued on July 13. This directive restrainedvarious authorities, including the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), theFederal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Punjab Police, from arrestingElahi based on concealed First Information Reports (FIRs) or ongoinginvestigations.
Elahi’s petition asserted that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)had initiated a purported investigation into the irregular awarding ofconstruction contracts in Gujarat during his second term as Punjab’s chiefminister on June 9, 2023. Despite the July 13 order, the petition claimedthat NAB did not disclose this investigation and proceeded to arrest Elahiimmediately after his release from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on August 14,marking the conclusion of his 30-day detainment.
Elahi’s legal representative, Amir Saeed Rawn, informed the court onWednesday that NAB had elevated the inquiry to the status of aninvestigation on July 18. Subsequently, an arrest warrant was issued onAugust 11 without any prior notification to the accused. Expressingdissatisfaction with the arrest despite the court’s order, Justice Rafiqquestioned the compliance of NAB’s actions with the court’s directive.Ghulam Sarwar Nihung, representing NAB, defended the arrest by assertingthat the July 13 order lacked specific instructions directed towards NAB.
Disputing this, Elahi’s counsel contended that the anti-corruption agencyhad assured the court that no inquiry was pending against the PTIpresident. Justice Rafiq pointed out that while NAB was not explicitlymentioned in the order, this omission may have occurred due to NAB’scommunication that no inquiry was in progress against Elahi. The abruptcommencement of an inquiry was questioned by Justice Rafiq, who labeled thesuccessive arrests as a “drama.”
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The NAB prosecutor argued that their compliance was in accordance with thecourt order as NAB was not explicitly referenced. Justice Rafiq counteredby asking why the court had not been informed about these cases wheninquired about disclosed, undisclosed, and concealed inquiries andinvestigations. Consequently, the court summoned the Lahoredirector-general of NAB to appear in person for the next hearing scheduledfor Thursday. Additionally, the court directed the NAB prosecutor tofurnish a comprehensive report outlining the current status of ongoinginquiries and investigations involving Elahi.