Daily Times

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted bail to PTI President Chaudhry Pervez Elahi in the illegal recruitment case.

Elahi was booked by the anti-corruption police on charges of illegally recruiting a lower rank officer as his principal secretary, by misusing the powers when he was serving as the Punjab chief minister.

Amir Saeed Rawn, Elahi’s counsel urged that his client be sent on judicial remand after the completion of the investigation, adding that the police had no justification for keeping the PTI president behind bars.

The lawyer further requested the court to approve Elahi’s bail. However, the law officer strongly opposed the bail request, and asked the court to dismiss the bail plea.

He added that there is substantial information to develop the nexus of the accused with the offence.

Then CM Punjab Elahi had illegally recruited Muhammad Khan Bhatti, a lower rank officer as his principal secretary, and no due process was adopted in the appointment, the officer contended.

Replying to this, Elahi’s counsel told the court that all due process was adopted while appointing the principal secretary; urging that a false and bogus FIR was registered against his client merely to humiliate and embarrass him despite he has nothing to do with this case. He added that Bhatti had been discharged from this case, while Elahi was being made the subject of political victimization. The lawyer urged the court to grant Elahi a post-arrest bail.

PTI president was booked in a number of cases and remained incarcerated for several months. Elahi was last held in a terrorism case, moments after he was released by an anti-terrorism court in a case of irregularities in the Lahore Master Plan 2050.

Besides, the former Punjab chief minister also remained behind bars in the May 9 judicial complex attack case; following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Al-Qadir Trust case.