Due to a restroom incident in Adiala Jail, Elahi is unable to attend his court date

Elahi is unable to attend his court date

Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former chief minister of Punjab, was unable to attend a significant court hearing on Tuesday over an unlawful recruiting case. His absence was attributed to a small fracture he had just two days before in the Adiala Jail restroom.

Elahi’s absence caused a disruption to the court session, which was called to move on with the issue pertaining to unlawful recruiting inside the Punjab Assembly. The accused was not present, therefore the court could not move on with the indictment process, even though it was anticipated.

The jail administration neglected to present Elahi to the court at today’s hearing at the anti-corruption court in Lahore, which caused the legal proceedings to be delayed. Elahi’s medical report was shown by Adiala Jail Deputy Superintendent Tahir, who verified that the injury—a small fracture—occurred on March 17 as a consequence of a fall in the restroom.

The anti-corruption court’s sitting judge, Judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta, acknowledged Elahi’s health and the need to record the medical report in the court’s files, so he postponed further hearings until April 4. The accused’s attendance is necessary for the next hearing to move on with the indictment procedure, the court emphasized.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab charged Elahi with abusing his position as chief minister to unlawfully appoint a low-ranking person as his principal secretary.