Islamabad. Amidst the violence in Pakistan, the police arrested Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a close aide of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister, on Thursday. At least eight people have died in this violence and the army had to be called in the country’s capital and three provinces. In a video shared on Twitter by Qureshi’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, he was seen being escorted by some men in plain clothes and waving to party workers before leaving the place of detention. Seemed to be
PTI claimed that Islamabad police arrested 66-year-old Qureshi in the early hours of Thursday and took him to an “undisclosed location”. Two days before his arrest, on Tuesday, Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary forces when he was present at the Islamabad High Court for a hearing in a corruption case. On Tuesday, on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the paramilitary force barged into a chamber of the Islamabad High Court and took Khan (70) into custody.
On Wednesday, an anti-corruption court sent 70-year-old Khan to eight-day remand. The dramatic arrest of former Pakistan prime minister Khan from a court complex in a corruption case has sparked widespread violence across the country, leaving at least eight people dead and nearly 100,000 people injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies. 300 other people were injured. The violence prompted authorities to deploy the army on Wednesday to maintain law and order in the capital Islamabad as well as in the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in an address to the nation on Wednesday condemned the violent protests by former Prime Minister Khan’s supporters following his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case and warned of strict action against the protesters.Prime Minister Said, “Attack on public property is an act of terrorism and enmity towards the country.” He said that those who take law into their hands will be dealt with strictly. According to reports, the situation is worst in Lahore and Peshawar with incidents of arson and firing taking place there.
The Pakistan Army has warned of a “befitting reply” to supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan over attacks on its installations, saying no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands. Also, it termed the May 9 attacks on its establishments as a “dark chapter” in the country’s history. A few hours later, Sharif addressed the nation. Khan’s supporters stormed the Army General Headquarters and several other military properties and establishments on Tuesday. They attacked military vehicles and installations and torched the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence.
“We will not allow anyone to take law into their hands,” said the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing. The ISPR said that on the one hand these miscreants inflame the sentiments of the country to achieve their “limited and selfish objectives” and on the other hand cheat the people. He said that this is an example of hypocrisy. PTI has announced to continue the protest till Khan is released.
According to a report published in ‘Dawn’ newspaper, the PTI issued a rebuttal to the ISPR statement, calling it “beyond facts” and “based on a poor understanding of the ground reality”. Leader Fawad Chaudhary was also arrested on Wednesday while leaving the Supreme Court building. He had reached the court for protection from arrest. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for peace in Pakistan.
The Islamabad Police had issued a brief statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Imran, who said that Imran has been arrested in connection with the case, which alleges that PTI chairman and his wife Bushra were killed in Bahria Town. Al-Qadir Trust, owned by Bibi, was allotted land worth Rs 53 crore.
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