Court grants two-day remand of Parvez Elahi

ISLAMABAD (INP): An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad gave Islamabad Police a two-day physical remand of PTI President Chaudhary Parvez Elahi in a case pertaining to an attack on the Judicial Complex of Islamabad. The PTI leader was taken into custody by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) after the ATC announced the reserved verdict.
Earlier, Elahi was produced before the ATC at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC). He was produced in the court of duty judge Shahrukh Arjumand in a terror case that dated back to March 18. The former chief minister Punjab was presented before the ATC a day after he was re-arrested hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended his detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance and directed his release.
The Islamabad police, in an X (formerly Twitter) post, had announced Elahi’s release and his subsequent re-arrest in another case. The police said Elahi was detained in a case registered at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station. Advocate Saddar Abdur Razzaq and defence counsel Ali Bukhari appeared as Elahi’s counsel while Prosecutor Tahir Kazim was also present.
During the hearing, police sought a 14-day physical remand of the former Punjab chief minister while his lawyers opposed it. They urged the court to discharge Elahi from the case. The court then reserved its verdict on the matter. As the hearing began, Elahi’s lawyers submitted their Power of Attorney to court. Police urged the court to grant them a 14-day physical remand of the PTI leader.
Lawyer Razzaq started presenting his arguments to court and opposed the police plea with an argument that an extremely hilarious case has been made against Mr Elahi as he is being a target of political vendetta. He said Mr Elahi was rearrested despite being discharged in numerous cases. The lawyer also recalled the IHC’s verdict of suspending Elahi’s detention under the MPO, as well as the LHC’s order preventing further arrest of the PTI leader.
“The court ordered that Parvez Elahi be dropped off at his home with security,” Razzaq stated, adding that the Islamabad police had “abducted” his client. Razzaq recalled that the LHC’s order from September 4, saying it had ordered that Elahi be presented before the LHC. He went on to say that citizens’ human rights were being violated.