ISLAMABAD: Following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Secretary-General Asad Umar, party’s senior vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has been arrested as the authorities crack down on the party’s leadership amid countrywide protests, ARY News reported on Wednesday.
According to details, the former foreign minister was arrested from Islamabad Red Zone under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960.
Sources told ARY News that Shah Mehmood Qureshi has been shifted to the Secretariat Police Station in the federal capital.
In a statement, the PTI senior vice president instructed the party workers to continue protest until Imran Khan is released. “Such arrests and threat cannot stop us from holding peaceful protests,” he added.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi further said that the party’s senior leadership was working to highlight the ‘atrocities’ of the government, urging the party workers and supporters to reach the ‘protest sites’.
Earlier in the day, PTI leader Asad Umar was arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC). Umar was arrested from the IHC as he reached to file a petition to seek a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The former finance minister was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Islamabad police. Sources said that Umar was arrested under section 16 of the Maintenance of the Public (MPO).
PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that Umar was taken into custody from outside the IHC Bar Association’s office, adding the case in which the PTI leader was arrested is still unclear.
The arrests come a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested from IHC in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Earlier, PTI leader and former Punjab governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema was taken into custody from his Lahore residence.
According to the family of the PTI leader, ‘unknown’ men in plain clothes took Omer Sarfraz Cheema into custody. They did not inform on which charges they took Omer Sarfaraz Cheema into custody, the family added.
Protests have erupted across Pakistan following Imran Khan’s arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) where he was present for biometric verification in two cases.
Red Alert declared in Islamabad
Authorities have declared red alert in Islamabad district after imposing section 144. “Paramilitary rangers will be imposed at key government buildings while armed force will be deployed at various intersections and thoroughfares of the city,” sources said.
Read More: PTI PROTESTS: BUSES SET ON FIRE IN KARACHI, 2 ARRESTED
Local authorities have vowed strict action against the people involved in damaging public and private properties. Police said that over 100 people have been arrested so far.
Rawalpindi Police have registered cases after violent protests staged by the PTI workers against arrest of the party’s chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday.
According to reports over 1000 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers and leaders have been booked in various cases registered at R.A. Bazaar, Cantt Civil Line, Waris Khan, City and New Town police stations.
Imran Khan arrest
Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case on Tuesday.
The PTI chief was taken into custody by Rangers personnel, who were acting on the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) warrant, from the premises of Islamabad High Court where the former premier had gone to seek bail in multiple cases registered against him.
Read more: Imran Khan’s arrest termed legal by court
Later on, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) termed the arrest of former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan ‘legal.’
Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition challenging Imran Khan’s arrest. The court also issued contempt court notices to Interior Secretary and IG Islamabad.
