Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was re-arrested on Wednesday just as he was being released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in a cipher case for which the Supreme Court recently granted him bail. According to police sources, Qureshi, who is the Vice Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was arrested in the May 9 GHQ protest case.
The PTI party released multiple videos of Qureshi being pushed and re-arrested on Instagram.
“I was released on bail by the Supreme Court, this is injustice, I am being punished for serving the nation,” Qureshi said while standing on an armoured car.
The videos shared on Instagram showed Qureshi being pushed and dragged all the way to the police van as bystanders are heard asking the officials to be “careful” with the former minister.
“Police have re-arrested Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on bail release from Adyala Jail following the Supreme Court’s verdict last week. Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi had withdrawn the observation order issued under MPO. This treatment of a person with unparalleled service to Pakistan who are internationally respected senior politicians is a sign of the arrogance of authority. The law has been made a joke and the fundamental constitutional rights of citizens have been openly violated. Pakistani people will never forget this oppression and injustice,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf wrote on Instagram.
The Pakistan Supreme Court had, on December 22, granted Qureshi and former Prime Minister Imran Khan bail in the cipher case. Their immediate release from jail could not be possible owing to their involvement in other cases.
On Wednesday, as the 67-year-old Qureshi was being released, a heavy contingent of police arrested him again in the GHQ protest case, and reportedly shifted him to an unknown location, The Express Tribute reported. A case was filed against Qureshi at the RA Bazar Police Station for attacking the GHQ during the May 9 riots, the report added.
Qureshi’s arrest came a day after Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema issued an order for his 15-day detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). This law permits the government to arrest an individual if there is a threat of public disorder.
In his order, Cheema said that the Rawalpindi city police officer (CPO) had informed him that Qureshi was a member of a political party, involved in anti-state activities and caused damage to public and private property in the May 9 protest case.
The Rawalpindi DC further said that Qureshi’s detention is “necessary and expedient in (the) public interest” to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, news agency PTI reported.
