ECP moved to ensure Shah Mahmood Qureshi's safety, release

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi's daughter has called for the "safety and release" of the former foreign minister in a petition filed in the the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against his “unlawful abduction”. 

The PTI stalwart was re-arrested earlier in the day, just minutes after being bailed out by the Supreme Court in cipher case. 

The apex court had approved Qureshi's bail last week and was supposed to be released from Adiala jail today (Wednesday), but Rawalpindi police took him into custody in connection with a case related to May 9 violent protests, a day after being detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (3-MPO). 

In response to the former foreign minister's arrest, his daughter Meher Bano Qureshi demanded the electoral body to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities and ensure the safety and release of Qureshi, who is a candidate standing the upcoming elections from multiple constituencies of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh.

Meher Bano stated in the petition that Qureshi had been granted bail by the Supreme Court, and referred to the remark of Justice Athar Minallah, who stated: “The incarceration of the petitioners will not serve any useful purpose. Moreover, their release on bail during the period of elections would ensure ‘genuine elections and thus enable the people to exercise the right to express their will effectively and meaningfully.”

She stated that the 3-MPO detention order had been withdrawn on the same day it was issued.

"It is not known to us that if the MPO Order was withdrawn soon after its issuance yesterday then under what pretext was Mr Qureshi unlawfully detained at Adyala Jail till around 10.30/11am this morning," the petition read.

Meher Bano mentioned that her father was previously detained under the 3-MPO order issued on May 23, but the Lahore High Court later quashed the order, stating that "it is further expected thot after his release, Shah Mahmood Qureshi will not be detained under the provisions of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2017, for any delinquency having been committed in the past”.

She called on the election commission and the chief election commissioner to take action against the "unlawful detention" of the PTI vice-chairman at the Adiala jail, which is "tantamount to denying the largest political party of the country, to quote the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s above-mentioned order, a ‘level playing field’".

Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi also reacted to Qureshi's arrest, calling on the authorities to take notice of the "indecent treatment" of the two-time foreign minister, who served in the top office during two different governments.

"We must not become a state where human rights and dignity are violated without fear. Authorities must pay attention to the confiscation of documents, the brutal action against the protesters and now the indecent treatment of the former foreign minister by two governments," Alvi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He said that "such incidents have happened before" but are not appropriate as Pakistan must undergo change.

Qureshi was implicated in cases related to the May 9 riots that broke out following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in a corruption case from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) earlier this year.

According to sources, Qureshi was arrested in a GHQ attack case and will be produced in an anti-terrorism court (ATC).

They said Qureshi was arrested by Rawalpindi police in the case after deputy commissioner Rawalpindi revoked the 3-MPO detention order issued a day earlier.