On Friday, the Punjab Police conducted a raid on the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Pervaiz Elahi, intending to arrest him. The PTI has strongly criticized the police’s actions, expressing concerns about the arrests of its workers and leaders.
The eight-hour-long police operation was stopped after Sohail Zafar Chattha, the Director General of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), left the scene with the police contingent. Chattha, who spoke to the media at the former chief minister’s residence, denied any wrongdoing and stated that they did not act illegally.
He added that a petrol bomb was thrown at the police party who came to arrest Pervaiz Elahi. The action was initiated by individuals at Elahi’s residence who were not cooperating with the police.
Chattha’s appointment as DG ACE was objected to by the PTI, and the Imran Khan-led party challenged the decision of the Punjab caretaker government in court in February of this year.
Earlier, the police and anti-corruption officials partially halted their operation, claiming that although Pervaiz Elahi was not present at his residence, his mobile phone’s location showed that he was there. But after receiving information from the arrested house help that Elahi was at his residence, they resumed the operation.
The police have arrested at least 27 individuals, including servants working in the household of the former Punjab chief minister and PTI workers protesting at the scene.
The raid came just hours after the PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government held talks on election dates. The PTI called for stopping their workers’ arrests, warning that the talks might derail if the law enforcers’ actions did not halt.
Analysts have suggested that the pressure tactics of the authorities are boosting Khan’s popularity, noting that none of the members from the government’s side has faced such late-night raids so far.
In February of this year, police raided the former Punjab chief minister’s house twice but returned without arresting him. In March, Punjab Police also raided Khan’s Zaman Park residence, which was called off after court orders.
A heavy contingent of police and the official of anti-corruption officials raided Elahi’s house. The police cordoned off the Chaudhary Zahoor Elahi Road outside the residence during the operation.
An armored personnel carrier (APC) of police broke the main gate of the residence after the people inside the house resisted the law enforcers and tried to stop the arrest. Police claim that stones were pelted at them, which injured police personnel and journalists covering the incident.
SP Ammara Shirazi, accompanied by a team of female police officers, entered Elahi’s house and searched. They came back from the house after a brief search.
According to Pervaiz Elahi’s lawyer, Amir Saeed, the police officials intended to arrest his client despite being granted bail in a case by the Lahore High Court (LHC). Officials from the anti-corruption department then demanded to see the court’s bail order during the raid.
Speaking to the media, Pervaiz Elahi’s lawyer stated that LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh had granted his client pre-arrest bail until May 6. Saeed added that the high court order is always received the next day. “We have made them talk to the court’s official over the issue,” he said.
The anti-corruption department told the media that the law enforcers had raided the house to inform the PTI president that he had not received bail in the case, but due to the resistance faced from inside, police had to take action. The officials said that the law enforcers would not leave.
Operation Pervaiz Elahi Failed
The police raid on the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Pervaiz Elahi has sparked a strong reaction from the party, which has criticized the police’s actions and expressed concerns about the arrests of its workers and leaders.
The eight-hour-long police operation was eventually stopped after Sohail Zafar Chattha, the Director General of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), left the scene with the police contingent.
Chattha denied any wrongdoing, stating that the police did not act illegally and that a petrol bomb was thrown at the police party who came to arrest Pervaiz Elahi. He also noted that the action was initiated by individuals at Pervaiz Elahi’s residence who were not cooperating with the police.
The PTI had previously objected to Chattha’s appointment as DG ACE and had challenged the decision of the Punjab caretaker government in court earlier this year.
Although Pervaiz Elahi was not present at his residence during the police operation, the police and anti-corruption officials claimed that his mobile phone’s location indicated that he was there. After receiving information from the arrested house help that Pervaiz Elahi was indeed at his residence, the operation was resumed.
During the operation, at least 27 individuals, including servants working in the household of the former Punjab chief minister and PTI workers protesting at the scene, were arrested by the police.
The raid came just hours after the PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government had held talks on election dates, with the former calling for a stop to the arrests of its workers and warning that the talks might derail if the law enforcers’ actions did not come to a halt.
Analysts have noted that the pressure tactics of the authorities may be boosting Imran Khan’s popularity, as none of the members from the government’s side have faced such late-night raids so far. It is not the first time that police have raided Elahi’s house; in February of this year, the police raided his house twice but returned without arresting him.
In March, Punjab Police also raided Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence, but the operation was called off after court orders. A heavy contingent of police and the official of anti-corruption officials raided Elahi’s house.
The police cordoned off the Chaudhary Zahoor Elahi Road outside the residence during the operation, and an armored personnel carrier (APC) of police broke the main gate of the residence after the people inside the house resisted the law enforcers and tried to stop the arrest.
The police claimed that stones were pelted at them, which injured police personnel and journalists covering the incident. Elahi’s lawyer, Amir Saeed, stated that the police officials intended to arrest his client despite being granted bail in a case by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
During the raid, officials from the anti-corruption department demanded to see the court’s bail order. Speaking to the media, Elahi’s lawyer stated that LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh had granted his client pre-arrest bail until May 6 and that the high court order is always received the next day. “We have made them talk to the court’s official over the issue,” he said.
The anti-corruption department told the media that the law enforcers had raided the house to inform the PTI president that he had not received bail in the case, but due to the resistance faced from inside, police had to take action.
The officials said that the law enforcers would not leave the location until Pervaiz Elahi’s arrest, as the location showed him there. “Search warrant is not required [in this case],” they added, without further details. A case has been registered against Pervaiz Elahi.