LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday directed the caretaker Punjab government to allow the wife of former chief minister Parvez Elahi to visit her husband in Adiala jail.

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh directed an additional advocate general to submit a compliance report after ensuring a meeting of the detained politician with his wife on Aug 10.

Qaisera Elahi, the wife of the former chief minister, filed a petition against the jail authorities for not allowing her to see her husband detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

The other day, the judge had observed that the government had the jurisdiction to detain a citizen under the MPO, but the detention was not considered a conviction. The judge had noted that the law permitted a detained person to see his family during the detention.

The Lahore deputy commissioner had issued a 30-day detention order for Parvez Elahi on the request of the police when he was due to be released from jail following bail in all cases against him.

ECL: The Lahore High Court allowed another opportunity to a federal government’s lawyer to submit replies to a petition of former federal minister Moonis Elahi’s wife against the inclusion of her name in the Exit Control List (ECL).

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh adjourned the hearing of the petition till Aug 18.

Petitioner Tehreem Elahi contended through a counsel that she had dual nationality of Pakistan and Britain and her children lived in the United Kingdom (UK).

She said her name had been placed on the ECL as her husband was a political figure and the present government turned hostile against him.

She pleaded that she wanted to visit her children in the UK, but was unable to travel abroad due to placement of her name on the ECL.

The petitioner stated that she had nothing to do with the political activities of her husband and that baseless cases were being constituted against him.

She asked the court to order the authorities concerned to remove her name from the ECL and allow her to travel abroad to see her children.

Moonis Elahi, who left the country last year, faces multiple cases of corruption and money laundering registered against him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2023