LAHORE: PTI President Parvez Elahi on Wednesday said he and his family firmly stood with incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to journalists after his appearance before an accountability court on a wheelchair, he said political instability was the result of not recognising the PTI’s electoral mandate.

“Imran Khan is not only the leader of Pakistan, but has now become the leader of the Muslim world,” he claimed, referring to the PTI founding chairman’s 2019 speech at the United Nations.

He said the people had been left with no choice but to take to the streets, adding that Imran Khan had already warned that if his ‘mistreatment’ continues, the workers would have no other choice.“Imran Khan resides in the hearts of the people, and the public comes out for their hero on their own,” the former chief minister added.

He stated that the key to politics in Pakistan was still in Imran Khan’s hands.

“No matter how many false cases are filed against Imran Khan and PTI leaders, the clouds of tyranny are about to clear,” he expressed the hope, adding that the party had full faith in the judiciary, and God willing, Imran Khan will soon be among the people again.

He also criticised the Punjab government for its ‘poor’ performance, saying due to enmity with Imran Khan, welfare schemes, including health card, had been abolished.

He regretted that the farmers of Punjab were struggling, and no one was there to resolve their issues.

The PTI president’s co-suspect Muhammad Khan Bhatti, a former principal secretary to the chief minister, was also brought to the court from jail.

Bhatti’s counsel asked the court to decide the question of its jurisdiction before framing charges against the suspects.

He argued that the accountability court could not hold trial of a person who had not received any monetary benefit.

Judge Zubair Shahzad Kiyani adjourned the hearing till Oct 17 as a NAB prosecutor sought time to submit a response to the defence arguments.

The NAB reference alleged that Muhammad Khan Bhatti being principal secretary to then chief minister Elahi maneuvered the award of contracts in favour of some contractors, in connivance with other suspects, including officials of government departments.

It said the suspect released full payments to the contractors even before the commencement of construction work, only to “receive kickbacks”.

The bureau alleged that money from the corruption committed by Bhatti had been transferred into the bank accounts of Elahi and his son Moonis.

Later, Mr Elahi also appeared before a special anti-corruption court to attend the hearing of a case of alleged illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly.

Judge Sardar Iqbal Dogar issued bailable arrest warrants for co-suspect Haider Shafqat for his failure to appear in the court.

The hearing was adjourned till Oct 9.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024