WATCH: Ex-Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested after being released from jail

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former Pakistan foreign minister and a close confidant of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Wednesday faced a controversial arrest outside a Rawalpindi jail, an action he and his party deemed “illegal.”

Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was violently arrested by police upon his release on bail from Adiala Jail following the Supreme Court decision last week. Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi withdrew the detention order issued under the Maintenance of Public Order… pic.twitter.com/xvizAtmloP

— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) December 27, 2023

Despite being granted bail in a cipher case by the Supreme Court just the previous week, Qureshi found himself in a tumultuous encounter with the police. In a video released by PTI, the 67-year-old former foreign minister is shown being forcibly apprehended at the entrance of the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, subsequently manhandled and transported away in an armored police vehicle. The widely circulated footage, broadcasted on various television and social media platforms, captures Qureshi, dressed in a cardigan and shalwar kameez, vehemently protesting the perceived “illegality” of the police’s actions as he is pushed into the police vehicle by officials donning the Punjab police uniform. “This treatment of an internationally respected senior politician with unparalleled service to Pakistan is a sign of the cowardice of the ruling elite. The law has been made a mockery and the basic constitutional rights of citizens are being blatantly violated,” the party’s post on X said, adding, “Pakistani people will never forget this cruelty and injustice.” Qureshi was released from jail on bail after the Rawalpindi DC withdrew an order for detaining the ex-former foreign minister for 15 days under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and added that police had not yet provided an official comment on the incident. The PTI shared another video that showed Qureshi attempting to speak to police personnel gathered outside the jail while he remained inside its premises.

Former FM and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was violently arrested by police upon his release on bail from Adiala Jail despite orders from the Supreme Court. He was dragged and manhandled by the police and unknown men in civilian clothes. The state has made a mockery of the… pic.twitter.com/Kieb3Z6w6a

— PTI Canada Official (@PTIOfficialCA) December 27, 2023

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“However, an official wearing the Punjab police uniform refused to listen and proceeded to shove Qureshi out the gate and toward an armoured police vehicle,” Dawn.com reported from the video footage. “Look at this. What is this?” Qureshi said as he was pushed the entire way to the van while the crowd yelled at officials to be careful. On Friday, the top court granted bail to Khan and Qureshi in the cipher case and demanded to submit surety bonds worth Rs 1 million each. Qureshi’s family on Tuesday had arrived at Adiala jail to pay his surety bond but before they could obtain the robkar (release order), Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema issued the order for the former foreign minister’s 15-day detention under MPO. Section 3 of MPO empowers the government to arrest and detain suspected persons to prevent them from “acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order.” “However, a subsequent notification issued by the DC said that the detention order had been withdrawn,” Dawn.com said and claimed it had a copy of it. “The detainee shall be released from the jail forthwith if he is not required to be detained in any other case,” it said. Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said, “If the Supreme Court granted bail to Qureshi on the basis that elections need to be free and fair and transparent, then the ECP needs to make sure he is released.” Gohar Khan said that the party would approach the election commission and also the high court if necessary. “I also told the ECP that it would have been very good if they personally went out today and surveyed what was happening in various locations,” Gohar said, adding that he would nonetheless submit an application to them. Both Khan and Qureshi have been incarcerated in multiple cases. With inputs from agencies