Police in Pakistan re-arrest ex-PM Khan’s aide immediately after release from Rawalpindi jail

ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi arrested one of former prime minister Imran Khan’s close aids shortly after he was released from prison in a high-profile case on Wednesday in which the country’s top court had granted him bail last week.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former foreign minister and vice-chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where he was facing a prison trial with the ex-premier on charges of leaking state secrets.
The case against him and Khan pertains to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied the accusation.
Earlier, Qureshi was detained for 15 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law after a notification was circulated by the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi, though the PTI said the instruction was later rescinded.
“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 said in a social media post in which it shared the video of Qureshi’s arrest. “The law has been turned into a joke and the basic constitutional rights of citizens are being blatantly violated.”
The PTI has said its leaders have been deliberately targeted by the state that wants to eliminate the party from the country’s political landscape ahead of the general elections in February.
It has also complained that its candidates have found it difficult to file their nomination papers in different parts of Pakistan while calling for “level playing field” to ensure fair and transparent national polls.
As Qureshi was taken to the prison van, he pleaded innocent in all the cases against him.
“The Supreme Court order has been mocked,” he said before sitting in the police vehicle. “The Supreme Court released me and they are arresting me again in a false case. I have represented the nation. I am innocent. And I am being targeted for political revenge.”
It was widely reported by the local media that Qureshi was arrested for interrogation in the May 9 case, referring to the incident when violence broke out in different parts of Pakistan when former prime minister Khan was briefly arrested from a court on graft charges.
Hundreds of people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings – including a top general’s residence in Lahore and the army headquarters in Rawalpindi – and indulged in rioting and arson activities.
The PTI also faced a massive crackdown after the incident, with several of its top leaders quitting the party after being arrested by the law enforcement authorities.