Punjab Assembly Secretary arrested in Sindh

MATIARI: Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti has been arrested from Sindh’s Matiari area, ARY News reported on Monday, citing Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) sources.

According to sources, the Punjab Assembly Secretary was arrested by Sindh police from Matiari area of the province. Later, his house in Gujranwala was also raided and a domestic employee was arrested.

Sources told ARY News that he was apprehended under the supervision of the Hyderabad police SSP from Matiari. Bhatti was traveling to the Sindh High Court (SHC) to seek protective and pre-arrest bail, they added.

In a statement, the police said Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) raided the house of Muhammad Khan Bhatti. “The ACE arrested a domestic employee, Nabeel, and confiscated mobile phone and digital device from the secretary’s house,” the police said.

Meanwhile, former Punjab chief minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has expressed concerns over the arrest, saying he fears that Bhatti may be subject to forcible disappearance.

“Our legal advisor Amir Saeed Ran was still missing and he too may be subject to disappearance,” Pervaiz Elahi said, warning that such actions by the Sindh administration and police chief can become cause for animosity between provinces.

The former Punjab CM urged Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to immediately take notice of the matter. “I am confident the that the Sindh chief minister will stop such steps which cause unrest across provincial borders,” he said.

Earlier, it was reported that  Punjab police raided the residence of the former chief minister and Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in Gujrat.

Uniformed and plainclothed police officials entered Pervaiz Elahi’s residence and started searching the entire house.

According to the reports, Pervaiz Elahi’s family was not present in the house at the time of the raid except for the gatekeeper and domestic workers.

Heavy contingents of police were also deployed outside the residence at the time of the raid. It was learnt that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials along with the police teams searched the house for one hour.