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a notification was circulated by the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi, though the PTI said the instruction was later rescinded.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.
Police in Pakistan re-arrest ex-PM Khan’s aide immediately after release from Rawalpindi jail
https://arab.news/b8puw
Police in Pakistan re-arrest ex-PM Khan’s aide immediately after release from Rawalpindi jail
- Supreme Court granted bail to Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the state secrets case in which he was tried with Khan in prison
- PTI vice-chairman calls himself innocent while saying he was taken into custody again in a ‘false case’ for political reasons
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
