F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Police on Thursday shifted PTI’s bigwigs Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, and Fawad Chaudhry to Adiaia jail after they had been arrested following the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan.
PTI leaders had been arrested on charges of sabotaging the peace under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) 3.
Mr Umar was the first to be arrested on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) followed by Mr Chaudhry’s arrest on the premises of the Supreme Court, while Mr Qureshi had been arrested from the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) house in Islamabad.
Talking to the media minutes before the arrest, Mr Chaudhry said it was happening for the first time in Pakistan that a SC lawyer had been arrested on SC premises. “What has been unforeseen, is happening now”, he added. Bar associations had, he said, reduced the power of lawyers in their personal feud.
All the sections of the society were facing challenges now, he said.
He said when he came to the IHC, Mr Khan was arrested on the premises of the IHC. “Mr Khan was tortured and his head was wounded,” he added. I appealed to the IHC CJ, he said, he entertained it and passed a worthless order.
He went on to say that the PTI aslo raised the issue before the SC but the case was not fixed for hearing. “Now SC have been evacuated and I have been asked to surrender,” he added.
He said problems could solved through dialogue in politics. “We need to cool down the heat raised by Mr Khan’s arrest,” he added.
A well-thought out attempt had been made to create division between the army and the PTI, he said.
As for Asad’s arrest, he had been arrested when he was about to leave for the SC to challenge the IHC’s decision on Imran Khan’s arrest along with Mr Qureshi. Asad was whisked away by the Anti-Terror Squad.
The former finance minister was in the IHC to file a petition to seek a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan. It is not clear on what charges Asad has been arrested.
According to eyewitnesses, the PTI lawyers resisted police to prevent Asad’s arrest, but the law enforcers overpowered them and took him away.
Two cases have been registered against him and other PTI leaders following the protests that ensued after Imran’s arrest. The cases were registered in Islamabad’s Tarnol and Aabpara police stations.
