Hassan Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Corruption court has delayed the formal charges against Parvez Elahi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President and former chief minister, along with others, over accusations of involvement in illicit appointments within the Punjab Assembly.
The defense counsel sought a postponement of the indictment process during the hearing, citing the need for thorough examination of the case records.
Parvez Elahi, accompanied by other accused individuals, complied with the court’s directives and appeared before the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
Subsequently, the court opted to postpone Parvez Elahi’s indictment and that of his co-accused, setting the next hearing for March 11.
This development comes shortly after PTI’s Chaudhry Parvez Elahi faced re-arrest following his acquittal in two corruption cases by a different court.
According to a spokesperson from ACE, the re-arrest is related to alleged irregular appointments made during Elahi’s tenure, particularly concerning 12 grade 17 officers appointed within the Punjab Assembly.
The spokesperson emphasized that these appointments were allegedly facilitated through falsified records, with unsuccessful candidates obtaining positions through fraudulent means. Additionally, it’s alleged that fake testing services were utilized to favor corrupt officials during the recruitment process.
Parvez Elahi was initially detained by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) over allegations of appointing Muhammad Khan Bhatti as his principal secretary during his tenure as the chief minister.
It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab Punjab ACE had lodged an FIR against former Punjab Chief Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in June last year, alleging the unlawful appointment of favored individuals in the assembly secretariat.
Additionally named in the FIR were a close aide of Elahi, former Punjab Assembly secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti, former Punjab Assembly coordination secretary Rai Mumtaz Hussain Babar, and PA&R DG Inayatullah Lak, among others.
The accusations revolve around the illicit appointment of 12 employees in basic pay scale (BPS) grade-17 at the Punjab Assembly.
Senior official from ACE who was part of the investigating team told The Frontier Post (TFP) that during the probe they uncovered an advertisement published on May 26, 2021, announcing 12 vacancies, including six research officers (general), one research officer for law and parliamentary affairs, two research officers for legal drafting, one protocol officer, one assistant director, and one electrical engineer – all positions at BPS grade-17.
As per the details the advertisement stipulated that appointments would be made through a departmental selection board chaired by then Punjab Assembly Speaker Elahi.
The board also included then Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti, former secretary coordination Punjab Assembly Rai Mumtaz Hussain Babar, and Inayatullah Lak.
Candidates underwent a qualifying exam administered by the Open Testing Service (OTS) for shortlisting.
However, ACE alleges collusion between the departmental selection board and OTS officials to manipulate exam results, ensuring certain candidates passed despite failing. This manipulation purportedly involved altering marks in system.
According to a senior ACE official speaking anonymously to TFP due to unauthorized media interaction, the marks of 12 candidates allegedly failed as per OTS records but were later artificially inflated. Originally scoring 34, 28, 45, 46, 21, 23, 42, 08, 43, 39, 42, and 27, these marks were reportedly boosted to 66, 67, 65, 68, 65, 67, 50, 59, 59, 66, 59, and 69 respectively.
The official asserted, “The passing marks were 50, and the result was tampered with to recruit people who are close to Elahi and his accomplices.”
Notably, beneficiaries of this alleged tampering hailed from Mandi Bahuddin and Gujrat, the hometowns of Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti, according to the official.
