ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police late on Monday night raided the Gujrat city residence of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the president of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, just days after a similar operation was carried out at his home in the eastern city of Lahore, Pakistani media widely reported on Tuesday.
Elahi, who has served as chief minister of Punjab and is a key ally of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was appointed the president of the ex-premier’s party this March. Khan had called the raid on Elahi’s residence on Friday by anti-corruption and police officials political victimization. Many PTI leaders have also been arrested in recent months, which the party has described as a witch hunt, accusing the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of launching a crackdown against the PTI and even sanctioning custodial torture of its members. The government denies this.
“Kunjah House, the former CM's residence in Gujrat, was searched by the police for a brief period, with the anti-corruption department — which was involved in the Lahore raid — denying any involvement,” Geo News, Pakistan's largest news channel, reported.
The latest raid comes as PTI and government negotiators will meet on Tuesday night for ongoing negotiations to decide on a date for national elections.
Since his ouster in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last April, Khan has been holding street protests and campaigning for early elections in the country. National elections are scheduled for October.
