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ISLAMABAD: PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was manhandled and rearrested by police officials outside Adiala Jail on Wednesday upon his release following bail granted by the Supreme Court in the cypher case last week,.
Qureshi was released from jail on bail after the Rawalpindi DC withdrew 3-MPO order issued yesterday for 15 days detention of the former foreign minister.
The police authorities are yet to clarify and comment regarding the case in which the PTI leader was taken into custody.
بریکنگ نیوز 🚨
سابق وزیر خارجہ شاہ محمود قریشی کو اڈیالہ جیل کے باہر سے پولیس نے دوبارہ گرفتار کر لیا ۔
انتہائی افسوسناک حرکت۔ دکھ اس بات کا ہے کہ ہمارے ادارے پاکستان کو کس طرف لے کر جا رہے ہیں ، جن اداروں نے پاکستان کے شہری کو بنیادی حقوق فراہم کرنا ہے ، وہی ادارے اپنے… pic.twitter.com/ZwyLwxIjwI— Usama Niaz (@ch_usamaniaz) December 27, 2023
In a post on X, the PTI said that Qureshi was again arrested from outside the Adiala Jail after being released on bail in the cipher case. The party said that the order issued yesterday by the Rawalpindi DC had been withdrawn.
گزشتہ ہفتے سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے کے بعد اڈیالہ جیل سے ضمانت پر رہائی پر وائس چیئرمین شاہ محمود قریشی کو پولیس نے دوبارہ گرفتار کر لیا۔ اس سے قبل راولپنڈی کے ڈپٹی کمشنر نے MPO کے تحت جاری کیا گیا نظر بندی کا حکم نامہ واپس لے لیا تھا۔
پاکستان کے لیے بے مثال خدمات کے حامل شخصیت جو کہ… pic.twitter.com/IEgnAIcVXu
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 27, 2023
Footage shared by the party on Instagram showed Qureshi, clad in a cardigan and a shalwar kameez, attempting to speak to police personnel gathered outside the jail while he remained inside its premises. However, an official wearing the Punjab police uniform refused to listen and proceeded to shove Qureshi out the gate and toward an armoured police vehicle.
“Look at this. What is this?” Qureshi said as he was pushed the entire way to the van while the crowd yelled at officials to be careful.
Qureshi said that police were making a mockery of the Supreme Court’s orders. “They are arresting me again in a false case,” he said.
“I represented the nation, I am innocent and I am being targeted for political revenge without any reason,” he said.
On Friday, the top court had granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan and his close aide Qureshi in the cypher case against surety bonds of Rs1 million each. Qureshi’s daughter had said she expected her father would be released as his arrest was not required in any other case.
Unending ‘Political Tribalism’
Commenting on the arrest, senior politician, writer and journalist Mushahid Hussain Sayed posted on X (erstwhile twitter) a footage of TRT World, showing manhandling of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi outside Adiala Jail.
While the world around Pakistan is being transformed, at home, the country remains mired in an unending ‘political tribalism’, with such shameful scenes not only making Pakistan an international laughing-stock, but also a pointer towards the country’s slow-motion descent into a… https://t.co/ibB4mG2WoJ
— Mushahid Hussain Sayed (@Mushahid) December 27, 2023
Mushahid Hussain Sayed wrote on his official account: “While the world around Pakistan is being transformed, at home, the country remains mired in an unending ‘political tribalism’, with such shameful scenes not only making Pakistan an international laughing-stock, but also a pointer towards the country’s slow-motion descent into a lawless Republic of Fear! Having wasted the past 2 years in political squabbling, it’s time to pull back from the precipice as Pakistan in 2024 needs a new beginning & much-needed healing touch!”
Yesterday, Qureshi’s family had arrived at Adiala Jail to pay his surety bond but before they could obtain the robkar (release order), it emerged that Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema had issued an order for the former foreign minister’s 15-day detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
However, a subsequent notification issued by the DC, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said that the detention order had been withdrawn.
“The detenu shall be released from the jail forthwith, if he is not required to be detained in any other case,” it said.
‘Disgraceful arrest’
The PTI strongly condemned how Qureshi was arrested in a post on social media platform X.
“The disgraceful arrest of Shah Mahmood Qureshi after the Supreme Court granted him bail is a slap on the face of the judiciary and justice system,” the party said.
وائس چیئرمین پاکستان تحریک انصاف شاہ محمود قریشی کی اڈیالہ جیل سے رہائی کے فوراً بعد پھر سے گرفتاری اور نامعلوم مقام پر منتقلی کا معاملہ
پاکستان تحریک انصاف کی جانب سے وائس چیئرمین شاہ محمود قریشی کی پرتشدد گرفتاری کی شدید مذمت
سپریم کورٹ کی جانب سے ضمانت کی منظوری کے بعد شاہ…
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 27, 2023
The party said the state was crossing all limits of brutality and cruelty over its failure to break the bond between Imran Khan and the nation.
“After the announcement of the election schedule, there has been an increase in oppression and fascism against the leadership, candidates and workers of PTI,” it said.
It said Qureshi was one of the party’s main candidates in the forthcoming Feb 8 general election, adding that attempts were being made to keep him out of the election race.
It termed the deputy commissioner’s detention order a clear violation of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding a level playing field for all political parties. The party held the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) responsible for the atrocities being carried out against PTI by the “unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic caretaker governments”.
The PTI urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of abuse of power and issue orders for Qureshi’s recovery and release.
In a video shared by the PTI, party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan requested the judiciary and Supreme Court to look into the matter. “You granted [Qureshi] bail on the grounds that he is a senior politician who needs to contest the elections,” Khan said.
“And for elections to be free and fair and transparent, it is necessary that all people participate,” he said.
“Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested and rearrested like this multiple times before,” Gohar said, adding that such arrests had an impact on the elections.
Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail later in the day, Gohar said, “If the Supreme Court granted bail to Qureshi on the basis that elections need to be free and fair and transparent, then the ECP needs to make sure he is released.”
عدلیہ ان معاملات کو دیکھے، شاہ محمود قریشی کی دوبارہ گرفتاری پر چیئرمین پی ٹی آئی گوہر خان کا ردعمل۔@BarristerGohar#ShahMehmoodQureshi pic.twitter.com/xmw1wLGuyl
— Tehreek-e-Insaf (@InsafPK) December 27, 2023
He said the party would approach the ECP and the high court if necessary.
“I also told the ECP that it would have been very good if they personally went out today and surveyed what was happening in various locations,” Gohar said, adding that he would submit an application to them.
PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub also strongly condemned the manner of Qureshi’s arrest and termed the police actions as “sheer thuggery”.
PTI Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat said that “ending cruelty requires active resistance and advocacy” and called on supporters to use the ballot to “make a difference by standing up for what’s right”.
‘Indecent treatment’ of two-time foreign minister’
Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi also reacted to Qureshi’s arrest, calling on the authorities to take notice of the “indecent treatment” of the two-time foreign minister, who served in the top office during two different governments.
“We must not become a state where human rights and dignity are violated without fear. Authorities must pay attention to the confiscation of documents, the brutal action against the protesters and now the indecent treatment of the former foreign minister by two governments,” Alvi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said that “such incidents have happened before” but are not appropriate as Pakistan must undergo change.
Meherbano moves ECP against father’s ‘unlawful abduction’
Meanwhile, Meherbano, the daughter of Shah Mahmood Qureshi filed a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the “unlawful abduction” of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman.
In response to the former foreign minister’s arrest, his daughter demanded the electoral body to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities and ensure the safety and release of Qureshi, who is a candidate standing the upcoming elections from multiple constituencies of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh.
Meherbano stated in the petition that Qureshi had been granted bail by the Supreme Court, and referred to the remark of Justice Athar Minallah, who stated: “The incarceration of the petitioners will not serve any useful purpose. Moreover, their release on bail during the period of elections would ensure ‘genuine elections and thus enable the people to exercise the right to express their will effectively and meaningfully.”
Meherbano stated that the 3-MPO detention order had been withdrawn on the same day it was issued.
“It is not known to us that if the MPO Order was withdrawn soon after its issuance yesterday then under what pretext was Mr Qureshi unlawfully detained at Adyala Jail till around 10.30/11am this morning,” the petition read.
Meherbano mentioned that her father was previously detained under the 3-MPO order issued on May 23, but the Lahore High Court later quashed the order, stating that “it is further expected thot after his release, Shah Mahmood Qureshi will not be detained under the provisions of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2017, for any delinquency having been committed in the past”.
She called on the election commission and the chief election commissioner to take action against the “unlawful detention” of the PTI vice-chairman at the Adiala jail, which is “tantamount to denying the largest political party of the country, to quote the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s above-mentioned order, a ‘level playing field’”.
