- Parvez, Moonis awarded contracts to “preferred contractors”: NAB.
- The father-son duo is accused of receiving over a billion rupees in bribes.
- ACE Punjab claims that the ex-CM made illegal appointments and took bribes.
LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore has indicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Parvez Elahi in connection with a corruption case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
As the court summons witnesses in the next hearing, Parvez, the former Punjab chief minister, denied the charges against him.
The senior politician, along with his son Moonis Elahi and others, are accused of illegally approving various development projects, receiving bribes and causing over a billion rupees loss to the national exchequer.
The NAB, in its reference, also accused the PTI leader and his son of receiving bribes by awarding contracts to their “favorite contractors” and claimed that the father-son duo received more than billion rupees in bribes through middlemen in over 200 development projects. in Gujrat district during Parvez’s second term as Punjab Chief Minister.
He also mentioned that the former CM had embezzled more than Rs744.5 million in bribes and kickbacks. The reference also said the accountant continued to deposit the bribes into the accounts of Moonis and his family.
His son deposited 1.61 million euros in his overseas bank account, while his family members deposited over Rs304 million in their accounts.
The reference said the suspects were found guilty during investigation and therefore the accountability court should conduct a trial and punish them accordingly.
Further, the case, registered by the Anti-Corruption Institute (ACE) Punjab, accuses Parvez of making illegal appointments and accepting bribes to influence the recruitment process during his tenure of chief minister.
According to the ACE, qualified candidates were passed over in favor of unqualified people who had not even taken the required exams.
The latest indictment adds to the legal problems faced by the PTI leadership for months, whose founder Imran Khan as well as top leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others have been behind bars for months in various cases.
The development comes against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between the former ruling party and the government, as well as the expected verdict in the £190 million trial against Khan, who has been in Adiala Prison for over a year. year now.
Although the party is yet to present its charter of demands in writing during negotiations with the government, it has nevertheless repeatedly demanded the release of the PTI founder and workers.