PTI PRESIDENT'S ARREST REQUIRED IN RS 70M CORRUPTION CASE: Pervaiz Elahi nabbed

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) with the help of Punjab Police on Thursday arrested former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi from near his Lahore residence, a private TV channel reported. The former Punjab chief minister was taken into custody by the anti-corruption personnel after pulling over his car near Zahoor Elahi's residence in Lahore's Gulberg area. His arrest was required in the Rs70 million corruption case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district. In a statement to police, Elahi's driver said the PTI leader was leaving for Gilgit Baltistan along with a convoy of four vehicles. He said Elahi was not travelling in a bulletproof vehicle and added that police tried to break the car's window after the PTI president refused to open the door. The PTI leader's spokesperson said Elahi's son Rasikh and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's sister were also present with him during the arrest. Caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir confirmed Elahi's arrest, saying he was in his vehicle and "trying to flee" when he was arrested. "Yes, he has been arrested from the Zahoor Elahi Road. He was arrested while trying to flee," the minister told a private news channel. "Several raids were carried out at his residence. He was wanted. Today, out of the blue, a couple of bullet-proof cars came out [of the house]. He was in one of the cars."

Mir said that law enforcers tried to stop and check the bullet-proof cars at a check-post. The minister said that the former chief minister resisted the arrest and was not opening door of his bullet-proof vehicle, therefore, the law enforcers had to break the side mirror of his vehicle. "After resistance, there was an attempt to break the car's window on the driver's side. Pervez Elahi sb was inside the car," he said. The minister emphasised that, during initial attempts to apprehend Elahi, there were significant instances of mismanagement, thus the arrest was made after proper planning today.