ISLAMABAD: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice-chairman of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, has been detained for a period of 15 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, an official said on Tuesday, despite his bail in the state secrets case.
Qureshi, a former foreign minister, is currently incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail along with Khan. The case against him and Khan pertains to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusation.
Weeks before his ouster, Khan had waved the letter to a crowd during a public rally last year and later revealed that country to be the US, saying the secret diplomatic letter spoke of dire consequences if he continued to get closer to Russia. The former Pakistani government, led by Shehbaz Sharif, said Khan’s actions amounted to leaking state secrets and using them for political gains.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Pakistan granted bail to Khan, who is currently serving a three-year sentence in a separate graft case, and Qureshi in the state secrets case and the former foreign minister was likely to be released on Tuesday. But the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner issued his detention order to “avoid any likelihood of breach of peace” in the district, referring to Qureshi’s alleged involvement in violent protests against Khan’s brief arrest on May 9.
“Accused Shah Mehmood Qureshi... being a member of a political party was involved in instigating/planning to organize unlawful assembly/commit violence, deliver unlawful speeches to cause damage to human life and public/private properties. He also incited the public to commit violence/damage public/private properties including GHQ Rawalpindi,” Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema said in the detention order, citing a letter from the Saddar Beroni police station in-charge.
“It is probable that after his release from the jail he will again continue his above activities and which may lead to law & order situation, harmful to life and property of general public.”
Khan’s arrest in May had sparked violent demonstrations in the South Asian country, with his supporters ransacking government and military installations and torching public property. The attacks prompted a crackdown by the authorities and scores of Khan supporters as well as members of his party had been arrested.
The Rawalpindi deputy commissioner issued the Qureshi’s detention orders under section 3 of the MPO, which empowers the government to arrest and detain a person suspected of acting against public safety.
“The government, if satisfied that with a view to preventing any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, it is necessary to do, may, by an order in writing, direct the arrest and detention in such custody […] and [the] government, if satisfied that for the aforesaid reasons, it is necessary so to do, may extend from time to time the period of such detention, for a period not exceeding six months at a time,” the section reads.
Qureshi’s detention order comes as a setback to Khan’s PTI party, which was looking forward to his release as it could have given the party a major boost ahead of the upcoming national elections, scheduled for February 8.
Khan, who denies any wrongdoing and says the charges against him are “politically motivated,” has accused Pakistan’s powerful military, the caretaker government and his political rivals of colluding to keep him and his party away from elections. All three deny the allegation.
