A Pakistani court on June 6 ordered the immediate release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was arrested following the May 9 violent protests.
Mr. Qureshi, 66, served as Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Minister from 2018 to 2022 under Imran Khan's regime. He was among the top PTI leaders arrested after violent protests following Khan's arrest on May 9. He has been arrested multiple times since his first arrest.
While hearing a petition against his arrest, the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench on June 6 ordered that Mr. Qureshi should not be arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) anymore, Geo TV reported.
Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz, who presided over the hearing, also declared Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner's MPO orders illegal and directed authorities to immediately release Mr. Qureshi without asking him to submit surety bonds.
During the hearing, the court inquired from the law officer if Mr. Qureshi had given any speech or led any protest.
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“No political leader can control his words in a political gathering,” the court said while directing the law officer to present evidence against the former Foreign Minister if any.
The official sought two days for the submission of evidence. However, the court directed him to update the court within an hour after taking directives from the government.
The court then adjourned the hearing for an hour.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police presented a report on the cases against Mr. Qureshi.
As per the report, nine cases have been registered against Mr. Qureshi across Punjab. Four of these cases are registered in Lahore, while five cases are registered at different police stations in Multan.
Following the May 9 incidents, several senior leaders of Khan's party were taken into custody. The leaders included Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Shireen Mazari, Maleeka Bukhari, and Fayyazul Hassan Chauhan.
A few days later, many prominent leaders including Fawad, Imran Ismail, Shireen Mazari, Fayyazul Hassan Chauhan, Firdaus Ashiq Awan and others quit Khan's party.
Last week, a delegation of former leaders of Khan's party comprising Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail, Mahmood Moulvi and Aamir Kiani met Mr. Qureshi in Adiala jail and tried to convince him to part ways with the deposed Prime Minister.
However, Mr. Qureshi's son Zain Qureshi said that his father has only done politics of "principles" not "position and greed".
"He [Mr. Qureshi] was with Imran Khan yesterday and he is with him today," Mr. Zain said as he denied the media impression given on his father's meeting with party defectors.
Khan, 70, who is facing more than 100 cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, said he sympathises with everyone who were forced to leave the party. Khan has announced that Qureshi will lead the party in case he is disqualified.
On May 9, violent protests erupted after the arrest of Khan by paramilitary Rangers in Islamabad. His party workers vandalised over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time. Khan was later released on bail.
The violence elicited a strong reaction from the government and military with vows of taking action against the culprits, leading to an ongoing crackdown against those involved.
Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 10,000 workers of Khan's Pakistan party across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab province.
The Punjab Home Department has constituted 10 different joint investigation teams to probe the attacks and violent protests on May 9, which the army dubbed “Black Day”.
