Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Court declares MPO orders of Rawalpindi DC illegal.
It orders the authorities to immediately release the PTI vice-chairman.
Punjab Police submits case report against Qureshi.
RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was arrested in light of the May 9 violent protests.
Former foreign minister Qureshi has been arrested several times since his first arrest.
While hearing a petition against his arrest, the Rawalpindi Bench of the LHC ordered that Qureshi no longer be arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
The hearing was presided over by Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz.
The court also declared the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner's orders illegal and directed the authorities to immediately release the PTI vice-chairman without asking him to produce surety bonds.
Deputy Attorney General Abid Aziz Rajouri represented the ruling party, while lawyer Taimoor Malik and Qureshi's daughter were there for the PTI leader.
During the hearing, the court asked the lawyer if Qureshi had made any speech or led any protest.
"No political leader can control his words in a political rally," the court observed, ordering the lawyer to produce evidence against the former foreign minister, if any.
For this, the official requested two days to present the evidence.
However, the court directed him to update the court within an hour of receiving the instructions from the government.
The court then adjourned the proceedings for an hour.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has submitted a case report against Qureshi.
According to the report, nine cases have been registered against Qureshi in Punjab. Four of these cases are registered in Lahore while five cases are registered in different police stations in Multan.
The report was submitted at the request of the PTI leader's daughter.
It may be noted that several senior PTI leaders were arrested after protests broke out in response to the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan on 9 May.
At least eight people were killed in clashes between PTI supporters and law enforcement agencies following his arrest on corruption charges.
Besides Qureshi, prominent PTI names taken into custody included Asad Umar, Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry and Yasmeen Rashid.
However, some of the leaders including Umar, Mazari and Chaudhry were released. Many also left the party and broke with the former prime minister in condemnation of the violent protests.
