Lahore: An accountability court on Thursday re-framed charges against former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and other accused in a corruption and kickbacks reference related to development projects in Gujrat.
The proceedings were conducted by Accountability Court Judge Rana Muhammad Arif. Pervaiz Elahi appeared before the court upon being summoned, while former principal secretary to the chief minister, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, along with other accused, was also present.
During the hearing, the court re-indicted Parvez Elahi and the other accused, all of whom pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges.
The court directed witnesses to appear at the next hearing for recording of their statements. It further ruled that due to a permanent exemption from personal appearance, Parvez Elahi will not be required to attend future proceedings, and his legal representatives will appear on his behalf during the trial. The court adjourned the matter until January 29.
Earlier, the court had summoned all the accused after a supplementary reference was filed against two newly nominated suspects. Owing to the addition of new accused, fresh charges were framed against all the accused. Other co-accused include Khalid Mahmood Chatha, Salman Ahmad, Asad Ali, Naeem Iqbal, Muhammad Asghar, Asif Mahmood Rathore and Muzaffar Iqbal.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against Parvez Elahi and the other accused on allegations of receiving kickbacks and bribes in various development projects.