PTI President Parvez Elahi has been discharged in a corruption case involving sugar quota allocation to mills. However, he has been granted a two-day physical remand in another case related to illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly. The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) brought Mr. Elahi from Adiala jail on a one-day transit remand to present him before a judicial magistrate at district courts.
The ACE alleged that Mr. Elahi illegally allowed the establishment of Rahim Yar Khan Sugar Mills in 2007 when he was the Punjab chief minister. In 2022, during his second stint, he passed a bill in the Punjab Assembly to let RY Khan Sugar Mills enhance its crushing capacity, benefiting his son Moonis Elahi who was a shareholder and partner in the mills.
Rana Intezar Hussain, President of the Lahore Bar Association, represented Mr. Elahi and opposed the physical remand, stating that the PTI leader had no connection to these charges. The judicial magistrate discharged Mr. Elahi in the case of sugar quota allocation but approved a two-day physical remand in the case of illegal appointments.
Meanwhile, the judicial remand of PTI-Punjab President Dr. Yasmin Rashid, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former MNA Robina Jameel, and fashion designer Khadija Shah has been extended in the May 9 riots cases. The anti-terrorism court directed the police to ensure submission of investigation reports by the next hearing and extended the judicial remand of the suspects.
In a separate development, an anti-terrorism court issued a release order for Khadija Shah in two cases related to attacks during the May 9 riots. Her husband provided surety bonds as directed by the LHC. A hearing for a contempt petition regarding her fresh arrest is scheduled before the high court.