Pakistan’s former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested again on Wednesday, December 27 (Marghumi 6). He was re-arrested shortly after he was released on bail in connection with another court case on the outskirts of Islamabad.
67-year-old Shah Mehmood Qureshi is the deputy of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, whose leader is the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Both are on trial for leaking classified government information while in office, including the United States. These leaders have called this trial a campaign to discredit them for political reasons.
On Wednesday, the police arrested Qureshi again while leaving the jail while his family members and journalists stood outside the jail.
The video of him being mistreated by the police and then being taken to the police car has been widely circulated on social media and Pakistani television channels, with widespread criticism from Qureshi’s party, politicians and civil society activists. has turned
Following a crackdown on members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party and its candidates, the arrests come as the party prepares to contest general elections in February. It is claimed that the purpose of these arrests is to prevent them and Imran Khan from participating in the elections.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said in a statement that “the situation in Pakistan under the fascist regime, which does not respect the rule of law and the constitution, is deplorable”.
According to the police, Qureshi was arrested on charges of involvement in attacks on army facilities during anti-government protests in May, but Qureshi denies these charges and says they have political motives.
So far, the caretaker government of Pakistan, which is responsible for monitoring and ensuring free and transparent elections, has not reacted to this.
Criticism in the form of detention
The head of Pakistan Parliament’s defense relations committee and a senior senator, Mushahid Hussain, has strongly criticized the method of Qureshi’s arrest. The senator represents Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in the Senate of Pakistan.
Hussain wrote on the X social network: “While the world is changing around Pakistan, the country is mired in endless tribal politics with shameful scenes that not only make Pakistan a laughing stock internationally. but it is a sign of fear and dread of this country moving towards a lawless republic.”
The President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, also instructed the authorities of the country on the X social network not to lead the country in a direction where “human rights and human dignity are violated due to immunity from the law”. Alvi is one of the loyalists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, but according to the constitution, his position as the president is symbolic.
A human rights defender Omar Ali Jan condemned the arrest of Qureshi and demanded his release. “It’s not an arrest, it’s a daylight kidnapping by a mafia regime,” he wrote on the X channel.
Imran Khan and his files
71-year-old Imran Khan, who was removed from the post of President through a no-confidence vote in the Parliament last year, has called this vote in the Parliament a stage-setting by the Pakistan Army under the pressure of the United States. Both America and Islamabad have rejected it.
Since Imran Khan’s ouster, authorities have filed ten legal cases against him, which he claims is a conspiracy by the military to prevent his return to power.
In early August, Imran Khan was charged with corruption and sentenced to three years in prison. He denies the allegations. Although an appeals court soon overturned his prison sentence and ordered his release on bail, the Pakistani authorities rejected this order because of other legal cases against him.