The Supreme Court last week granted bail to Qureshi (67) in the ‘Cipher’ case and he was due to be released on Tuesday, but the police arrested him as soon as he was released.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a post on social media platform ‘X’ that Qureshi was re-arrested outside Adiala Jail after being released on bail in the ‘Sifar’ case.
The party released a video on ‘X’ in which Qureshi can be seen being pushed into an armored vehicle by policemen at the gate of Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala Jail.
According to a report in ‘Dawn’ newspaper, the footage aired on TV channels and shared by PTI on social media showed former foreign minister Qureshi protesting the police action as ‘illegal’.
“This behavior of a senior politician who has served Pakistan well and is respected internationally is a symbol of the cowardice of those in power,” the party said in a post on ‘X’. The law has been made a mockery and the basic constitutional rights of citizens are being openly violated.
Supporters of Imran Khan, who is in jail after the PTI chief’s arrest in an alleged corruption case, attacked military and government institutions on May 9.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf shared another video on Instagram showing Qureshi trying to talk to policemen inside the jail premises, but was stopped at the gate as he was about to leave the jail. On arrival, a Punjab Police contingent was present to arrest him in a violence case registered against him at the RA Bazar Police Station in Rawalpindi.
Qureshi tried to convince the police that he had been granted bail by the Supreme Court and was free to go home, but the policemen pushed him away and forced him into an armored vehicle.
The former foreign minister said that he was being arrested in a fake case and was being politically harassed.
Qureshi said that the police was making a mockery of the Supreme Court order and that brutality and injustice were rampant.
“They are again arresting me in a false case,” he said. I represent the nation, I am innocent and I am being targeted for political revenge for no reason.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf condemned the arrest of its vice-president Qureshi and said it was a violation of Supreme Court directives.
“The Chief Justice should issue an immediate order for the release of Shah Mehmood Qureshi,” the party demanded.
President Arif Alvi also expressed concern over Qureshi’s arrest.
The country’s Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan and his close aide Qureshi in the ‘Sifar’ case and asked them to deposit a bail of Rs 10 lakh each.
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(This news is not edited by the NDTV team. It is published directly from the syndicate feed.)