Lahore court annuls decision to declare Moonis Elahi proclaimed offender

Special Court Central in Lahore on Saturday declared the court’s order to declare Moonis Elahi, son of former Punjab chief minister and PTI President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a proclaimed offender (PO) in a money laundering case null and void, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), too, accepted that the act of declaring suspects in the case along with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi POs was illegal.

Special Judge Central Bukht Fakhar Behzad heard the case.

During the hearing, the judge asked one of the prosecutors as to where was the challan?

The prosecutor replied that the suspects were POs, and today the prosecution would give to the court their addresses. “We had obtained arrest warrants for two suspects from a subordinate court,” he informed. 

The judge asked as to what a subordinate court had to do with the case.

He then asked investigation officer (IO) in the case as to when the case was registered.  

The IO replied that it had been registered on June 5.

The judge remarked as to who was responsible for the delay. “The suspects were not produced in the court even before; neither their arrest warrants were issued. And now you have presented the challan after getting declared them POs,” he said. 

The court said the entire process to declare Moonis and others POs was ‘illegal’. “You people don’t know anything. You are only concerned about Chaudhry Pervaiz,” the judge said, adding, “Your only worry is to shift him to Rawalpindi and to ask him to address a press conference.”

When the judge asked the prosecutor his opinion on declaring suspects ‘POs’, the latter admitted that certainly it was not legal.

The judge said that in this connection he would give an appropriate order.  

Reporter: Jamaluddin Jamali