Qureshi set to take PTI’s reins if Imran arrested

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that if Imran Khan is arrested, he will take over as the party's leader.

Speaking to the media outside the Lahore High Court (LHC), Qureshi said that an unjustified case was filed against him.

“There is a bogus case related to the news conference as I exhorted the workers in it not to take the law into their hands. The case was filed against facts and on political grounds,” he remarked.

The PTI leader said that the party was being entangled in cases to divert attention from political activities.

He accused the Punjab government of showing fascism on March 8, adding that Zille Shah’s postmortem report “proved” that torture took place, and the world took notice of his death.

However, Qureshi said, the government also filed a case against Imran. “With such tactics, you will not be able to stop Tehreek-e-Insaf because it is increasing our popularity among the people,” he added.

The PTI leader said that neither did Maryam Nawaz’s tone suit her nor the “sarcastic conversation” she delivered.

He alleged that while there was a caretaker government in Punjab, it was an extension of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

He said that there was no need to arrest Imran because if he was arrested, the party had a whole system in place.

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He highlighted that Imran had said that if he were to be arrested, he (Qureshi) would take charge of the party.

Interim bail approved

On Friday, a district and sessions court in Lahore approved the interim bail of Qureshi in a case regarding allegedly inciting hatred among the public against state institutions.

Additional Sessions Judge Nadeem Hasan Wasar presided over the hearing, granting interim bail to the PTI leader till March 20.

Moreover, the judge ordered Qureshi to become part of the investigation, directed him to deposit Rs50,000 as surety.

The district court judge also sought a report from the police on the next hearing.

Earlier this week, a first information report (FIR) was registered against senior PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry and Qureshi for allegedly inciting hatred among the public against state institutions.

The FIR had been lodged on the complaint of the sub-inspector of Race Course police station in Lahore and included charges of issuing threats, blocking roads, hate speech, and others.

The “controversial statements” were made by the PTI leaders when party chief Imran evaded arrest as his supporters prevented the Islamabad police from entering his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.