ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani high court in the eastern city of Lahore on Friday ordered the release of Pervaiz Elahi, president of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, but he was rearrested just hours later by Islamabad police.
Pakistan is beset by political turmoil as Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has faced a countrywide crackdown since his brief arrest on May 9 for suspected graft sparked widespread protests that saw mobs ransacking state installations, including military assets. Khan was subsequently released on bail but was arrested again last month and jailed after he was sentenced in another case involving the illegal sale of state gifts.
Elahi, who has twice served as the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province and has been under arrest since June, is on a long list of key PTI leaders arrested in the security swoop to halt turmoil that has threatened to worsen instability in a country reeling from a crippling financial crisis.
Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Amjad Rafiq ordered Elahi’s release while hearing a petition against his arrest by the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, Pakistani media widely reported. The judge also barred authorities from arresting the former chief minister in any other case.
“First of all, I thank Almighty Allah and then the ones who prayed for me,” the former chief minister told reporters after the court orders.
Hours later, Pakistani TV channels widely showed footage of Elahi being rearrested by Islamabad police, who are moving him to the capital from Lahore, where he was previously incarcerated.
Dozens of top and mid-tier leaders in the PTI have been arrested alongside hundreds of Khan supporters since the violent protests of May 9. Many have quit the party after being released while other leaders remain on the run to avoid arrest.
Khan himself faces a slew of cases, including one for leaking state secrets, which carries the death sentence.
The former premier is believed to have shot to power in 2018 with the help of Pakistan’s powerful military. His ouster in a no-trust vote in April 2022 is also seen by many independent observers as an outcome of his falling out with the then military leadership. The military denies interfering in the political process.
