PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrested after drama outside Adiala Jail

By: News Desk
Published: 08:56 PM, 27 Dec, 2023
PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrested after drama outside Adiala Jail
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Former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was taken into custody by a heavy contingent of the Punjab Police in connection with the attack on the GHQ, Rawalpindi gate on May 9 immediately after his release from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Wednesday morning and was whisked away to an undisclosed location, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.


Before he was thrown into the armoured vehicle by the police, Qureshi said he was being punished for serving the nation. “This is barbarism. The Supreme Court had already acquitted me in the US cipher case,” he said this aloud. 


As he came out of the Adiala Jail, Qureshi tried to go back inside as he saw the police waiting for him. He resisted as the police tried to get hold of him.



The cops led by SHO from RA Bazaar police station where a case was registered against Qureshi then forcefully pushed the PTI leader again and again until he reached the armoured vehicle.


While hanging on the rear of the police vehicle, a belligerent Qureshi screamed this is cruelty and injustice. Qureshi roared “I am innocent, being subjected to political victimization. They are arresting me in a false case.”


Qureshi, with his grey hair all turned white, then again was pushed inside the vehicle and driven away



In his reaction, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the Supreme Court should look into Qureshi’s arrest as he is an important member of the party.


Gohar said it imperative for free and fair elections that such arrests must be stopped. “Courts are being requested to ensure people’s safety,” he added.



In reaction to Qureshi’s arrest, the PTI in a post uploaded on X platform said “This treatment of an internationally respected senior politician with unparalleled service to Pakistan is a sign of the cowardice of the ruling elite.”


The party further said “The law has been made a mockery and the basic constitutional rights of citizens are being blatantly violated. Pakistani people will never forget this cruelty and injustice.”



Sources told 24News TV channel that the PTI vice chairman was likely to be produced in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) today.   


Earlier, the deputy commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi had withdrawn his order to detain Qureshi for 15 days.


On Friday, the apex court had approved the bail petitions of former PTI chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case in lieu of bail bonds of Rs1 million each. 


A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, heard the petitions of Imran and Qureshi against the Islamabad High Court verdict in the cipher case. 


Justice Minallah remarked that the former prime minister was innocent, as no crime could be proved against him. 


Notification for withdrawal of MPO directive issued


The notification issued by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi Hassan Waqar Cheema for the withdrawal of his order to detain PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the GHQ gate attack case has surfaced.


Sources told 24News that it was after the issuance of that notification that Qureshi’s release in the US cipher case could be possible.


It was the CPO, Rawalpindi who had recommended to the DC the release of the PTI vice chairman, they disclosed.


However, RA Bazaar police took Qureshi into custody immediately after he came out of the jail.


Sources further said that the police had registered cases no 981 and 708 against the PTI leader.


Qureshi will be produced in the court of a judicial magistrate later today to seek his physical remand in the May 9 violence-related case.  


 


Reporter: Farzana Siddique

Categories : Pakistan

News Desk

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