Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was arrested on Thursday under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that his arrest was “illegal” and ordered his release.
When considering a petition contesting the arrest of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the IHC gave the instructions.
When granting the release orders, the court instructed the PTI leader to submit an undertaking identical to the one provided by former state minister Ali Muhammad Khan.
After speaking with the PTI leader, Qureshi’s attorneys notified the court that they will submit the undertaking.
Within 24 hours of the start of the violent protests by PTI workers in response to the detention of the former prime minister Imran Khan, Qureshi was one of the senior PTI leaders detained from Islamabad as the government tightened the noose around the party.
Early on May 11, during a police raid at Gilgit-Baltistan House in Islamabad in accordance with Section 3 (3MPO), he was brought into jail.
The police said at the time that they had detained the former foreign minister in connection with rioting and arson charges in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
However, the PTI chairman urged party members to continue fighting for “true freedom” in the nation before being detained.
“As foreign minister of Pakistan, I represented Pakistan’s interests everywhere. For the past 40 years, I’ve been involved in politics, he claimed.
Qureshi stated that he has no regrets and has not spoken anything that might be used as grounds for legal action. He had faith that the PTI movement would succeed in reaching its goal.
