LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti was arrested in Quetta on Thursday, says the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Punjab.

ACE Director General Sohail Zafar Chatta said in a statement that Mr Bhatti was trying to leave the country via Iran when he was arrested by police.

Mr Chatta has formed a four-member team to bring Bhatti to the ACE headquarters in Lahore. Bhatti is wanted in a Rs800 million corruption case registered by the ACE.

“Mr Bhatti is accused of receiving bribes in appointments and transfers and receiving huge kickbacks in development projects. ACE has already arrested Rana Iqbal, Xen of the Department of Communication and Works, in the case filed against Bhatti. Iqbal has recorded a confessional statement against Bhati,” the ACE said.

Bhatti was also the former principal secretary to former chief minister Parvez Elahi.

Early last month it was reported that Bhatti was arrested by the Sindh police while he was going to Karachi to seek protective bail from the Sindh High Court. Officially no one confirmed it.

His wife had written to the chief justice of Pakistan urging him to take notice of the “abduction” of her husband. She said the life of her husband was in danger.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had also booked Bhatti on money laundering charges. The FIA registered the FIR against Bhatti in light of the ACE’s case against him.

The NAB also launched a probe into the income beyond means and money laundering allegations against Bhatti.

The NAB has written to different banks, revenue and other departments concerned for the record of business transactions and property in his name. It also sought records from the Punjab Assembly regarding his service, salary and perks, especially for over 10 years he remained on leave.

After his reported arrest in Sindh, Parvez Elahi had voiced concern over his safety.

Bhatti’s name also surfaced in an audio clip of an alleged conversation between Elahi and a lawyer in which the former chief minister was purportedly asking the lawyer, the sitting SCBA president, to get the case fixed before a judge.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2023