PTI’s Parvez Elahi walks free after months-long incarceration

LAHORE: In a major development on Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi walked free from Lahore's kot Lakhpat Jail following months long incarceration.

The development comes after the Lahore High Court (LHC) approved the PTI leader's bail in the Punjab Assembly illegal recruitment case. LHC Justice Sultan Tanvir announced the reserved verdict on Elahi’s bail petition earlier today.

Following the release, the PTI president reached his residence in the provincial capital.

Elahi was among dozens of PTI leaders who were arrested following a crackdown on the opposition party in the aftermath of the May 9 incidents.

The May 9 events refer to the violent protests that broke out in many parts of the country following PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest in a corruption case last year.

The riots saw attacks on public and private properties, including military installations, with the army declaring May 9 as a “Black Chapter” in the country’s history.

Initially, Elahi was arrested outside his residence on June 1, 2023, in a corruption case. Since then, the former Punjab chief minister was granted bail several times only to be arrested again.

Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court had ordered the Interior Ministry to complete the procedure of placing Elahi under house arrest within 15 days.

The court's orders came after it approved the petition seeking either the transfer of the PTI politician to the hospital or to declare his residence as a sub-jail.

In a statement, Elahi thanked Allah for his release and said: “God gave me the strength to remain steadfast. I thank the judges who supported the truth and got me released.”

The PTI president said that the people of Gujarat “had to suffer a lot of abuse and cruelty”. He claimed that PTI’s mandate was stolen in his home city. “We will not talk to [Chaudhry] Shujaat sahib's children until our mandate is given back to us.”

“I was, am, and will stand with the founder of PTI,” he added.

What is illegal recruitment case?

According to the details provided by Punjab's Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Elahi made 12 illegal recruitments in the Punjab Assembly on grade 17 positions.

The candidates were recruited in the provincial assembly by altering the records. "The illegal recruitments were made through fake testing services," a spokesperson for the ACE had said following Elahi's arrest last year.

He had said that the investigation by the ACE proved that fake recruitments were made in the Punjab Assembly, adding that the anti-corruption had also arrested Secretary Rai Mumtaz Hussain in connection with this case on the basis of evidence.

"Rai Mumtaz was involved in a fake recruiting process with Parvez Elahi," he said.