A large detachment of Punjab Police on Friday night raided Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President and former CM Punjab Parvez Elahi’s residence to arrest him.
Director General of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Sohail Zafar Chattha left the scene with the police team after the six-hour-long police operation came to an end.
At the former chief minister’s home, Chattha spoke to the media and refuted all accusations of wrongdoing. He claimed that they did not behave improperly and that a petrol bomb was thrown at the police team that arrived to take Elahi into custody.
He said those at Elahi’s house, who weren’t helping the cops, were the ones who started the action. The PTI opposed Chattha’s appointment as DG ACE.
Earlier, the police and anti-corruption officials temporarily paused their operation because, despite Elahi’s absence from his home, the position of his mobile phone indicates that he is there. However, they resumed it after learning that Elahi was at his house from the arrested housekeeper.
The police have detained at least 27 people, including PTI protesters and domestic helpers who were employed by the former Punjab chief minister.
The raid occurred hours after talks on election dates between the PTI and the government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement, during which the PTI demanded that the arrests of its workers must stop and threatened that the discussions may fall apart if they did not.
Analysts claimed that Khan’s popularity is increasing as a result of the government’s pressure methods, noting that none of the government’s members have previously experienced such late-night raids.
Police repeatedly visited the former Punjab chief minister’s home in February of this year, but they left without taking him into custody.
Khan’s Zaman Park home was also the target of a Punjab Police raid in March, but it was abandoned due to court restrictions.
