The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Lahore has issued a 30-day detention order for Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The order was issued under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and stated that Elahi would be detained at Lahore’s Camp Jail, where he has been incarcerated since last month.
This decision comes after the Lahore police submitted a written request for Elahi’s detention, citing his alleged involvement in disturbing the peace in connection with three separate cases.
Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, who is also the former Chief Minister of Punjab, was initially arrested on June 1 in connection with a corruption case. However, he was released the following day. Subsequently, he was arrested again in another case.
Just a few days ago, a banking court ordered his release from Camp Jail in a money laundering case. Nevertheless, Elahi remained in custody as the police registered a terrorism case against him at the Ghalib Market police station.
According to the detention order issued by Lahore DC Rafia Haider, the Lahore police reported that Elahi is an “active member and firebrand speaker” of the PTI. The order further stated that the superintendent of the Model Town division and the district intelligence branch reported that an activist like Elahi had the potential to create unrest and disturbance, posing a threat to public peace and tranquility.
It expressed concerns that Elahi and his followers may cause damage to both public and private property and provoke people to take the law into their own hands.
The order also mentioned that the police received credible information indicating that if Elahi was released, he could worsen the law and order situation, potentially leading to a repetition of the May 9 mayhem.
Several first information reports (FIRs) filed against Elahi at various police stations in Lahore were listed in the order, labeling him as a “criminal record holder.”
The order cited investigations that established Elahi’s alleged involvement in acts of resistance, arson, and terrorist attacks on law enforcement agencies through his accomplices.
DC Haider, in her order, emphasized that she firmly believed that Elahi’s presence in any public space would pose a grave threat to public safety, leading to a breach of public peace and order. Consequently, Elahi was ordered to be arrested and detained for 30 days at Lahore’s Camp Jail.
Meanwhile, Elahi’s legal team has approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), seeking the dismissal of the detention order on the grounds that it is “unlawful, void, against the law, and of no legal effect.”
The plea requests Elahi’s immediate release and asks for sufficient time to approach the relevant court of law for anticipatory/pre-arrest or protective bail if any new FIRs were filed against him.
The Punjab government, Lahore Inspector General Dr. Usman Anwar, the Federal Investigating Agency, the National Accountability Bureau, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, the Lahore IG (Prisons), and the Lahore DC are among the eleven parties named as respondents in the plea.
