A Pakistani court orders the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and several members of his party

Lahore anti-corruption court grants PTI president Parvez Elahi bail

June 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore has issued an arrest warrant without bail on Tuesday against Imran Jan, former Pakistani prime minister and president of the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), as well as against other members of the formation, for the violent riots that broke out on May 9.

The court has issued arrest warrants against the former prime minister and various members of the PTI, including former minister Hammad Azhar – who held various posts under Khan’s mandate – and Mian Aslam Iqbal, among others.

Specifically, the investigators are behind the paper they had for a fire that broke out in the office of the Pakistan Muslim League, whose president is the current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, the Geo News chain has picked up.

Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has accused both the government and the army of arresting his supporters to prevent his victory in the upcoming elections and has accused the authorities of attacking military buildings during protests against his arrest in May.

The protests on May 9 erupted after his arrest in the framework of a case for alleged corruption. In response, the Army was deployed in several cities of the country to contain the protesters. The current ‘premier’, Shehbaz Sharif, said that the events of May 9 were a “show of a terrorist and anti-Pakistani agenda.”

The former prime minister was removed from power in October 2022 following a motion of no confidence approved after the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the then prime minister to dissolve Parliament and announce early elections after the refusal of the presidency of the legislative body to hold the vote in the first instance. Jan has always defended that the various cases opened against him derive from political pressure.

RELEASE ON BAIL FOR ELAHI

On the other hand, an anti-corruption court in Lahore has granted another of the main officials of the PTI, Parvez Elahi, freedom on bail after being arrested in early June for a case of alleged corruption, the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’ reported.

The former chief minister of Punjab state was arrested and remanded in custody for 14 days. Subsequently, he requested freedom from special judge Ali Raza Awan, who finally granted it to him on Tuesday.

Elahi is accused of receiving numerous bribes to facilitate infrastructure and development projects during his tenure of the state. Specifically, he would have embezzled about 70 million rupees (about 230,000 euros).