An accountability court in Lahore on Tuesday indicted former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi over allegations of corruption in development scheme funds.

In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference in Lahore’s accountability court against Elahi, his son Moonis, and 11 others, alleging the receipt of Rs1.23 billion in bribes in connection with development project contracts in Gujrat.

The father-son duo has been identified as prime suspects, who, according to the reference, have allegedly received the highest kickbacks among all others, totalling Rs744 million.

Today, Judge Zubair Shahzad Kayani resumed hearing the case, with lawyer Waris Ali Janjua representing the NAB and advocate Amjad Pervaiz appearing on behalf of Elahi.

During the hearing, Elahi’s lawyer said his client pleaded not guilty to the charges. He added that his client had arrived at the court premises, however, he could not get out of the car due to health issues, adding that he was technically on the premises of the court.

“We want to submit a request for complete exemption from court appearances for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi,” the counsel said.

Elahi’s lawyer added that his client wanted “to take the case forward now, there will be no problem from our side in the case”.

The accountability court summoned NAB witnesses on January 21.

Initially taken into custody on June 1 2023, Elahi has faced a series of releases and re-arrests, remaining in detention ever since.

The legal challenges coincided with the state’s crackdown on the PTI that followed the violent May 9 protests that saw important government and military installations vandalised.