PTI’s Qureshi walks free at last

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday was allowed to walk free from Adiala Jail on the orders of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench  after almost spending almost a month in prison.

As the former foreign minister stepped out of the jail, he not only declared his unwavering commitment to the PTI, but  also said he would meet the embattled  chairman of the party, Imran Khan, on Wednesday (today) to chalk out future plans.

He appeared ready to reclaim his political mantle, saying “the flag of justice” was still in his hands.

Qureshi said he would meet the party chairman and share his analysis of the ongoing political situation in the country as well as to seek his guidance.

Earlier, Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench declared Rawalpindi deputy commissioner’s Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO)  orders “illegal” and ordered the authorities to immediately release Qureshi while hearing a petition filed by the PTI vice chairman’s daughter.

Read PTI defector upbeat about jail meeting with Qureshi

The judge also directed the authorities not to round up Qureshi under the MPO again.

The judge also permitted Qureshi to express his views on air at a time when the PTI leaders were facing an unannounced censorship on the electronic media.

During the proceedings, when the prosecution lawyer sought more time for presenting arguments and evidence of Qureshi’s involvement in May 9-related incidents, the judge granted only an hour’s time.

When the prosecution lawyer was unable to do so and sought two days’ time, the judge ordered Qureshi's immediate release.

Amid an ongoing crackdown against PTI activists, there was an unspoken ban by TV news channels on the party leaders in the wake of May 9 attacks on civil and military installations after the arrest of Imran from the premises of the Islamabad High Court by dozens of Rangers personnel in connection with a corruption case.

The PTI vice chairman was arrested last month by the Islamabad police on various charges, including “inciting violent protests”, following the party chairman’s arrest on May 9.

The IHC had ordered ordered Qureshi’s release on May 18, but it was delayed because of his  “reluctance” to submit an undertaking to the court that he would not engage in “unruly” protests.

The PTI vice chairman was released on May 23, but re-arrested from outside Adiala Jail on the orders of the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner under the MPO.

At a time when several bigwigs of the PTI jumped ship in exchange for their release from jail, there are only a handful of its leaders, including Qureshi and party president Parvez Elahi, who have decided to stick with Imran.

Several PTI leaders, including Pervez Khattak, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, Imran Ismail, Ali Zaidi, Amir Kayani, Fayazul Hassan Chohan, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Maleeka Bokhari and Musarrat Cheema, distanced themselves from the party or its positions.

Referring to his time in jail, the PTI vice chairman told the media that he had a lot of time to think and reflect on the past incidents.

He added that he was still part of the PTI, which wished to see a “sovereign” Pakistan.

Addressing the PTI activists, Qureshi said it was surely a testing time but they should keep their hopes alive and remain steadfast as after “every night, there was a dawn”.

He demanded said that countless number of “innocent people” were in jails should be released.

The former foreign minister said he would discuss the issue with the PTI’s legal team so that the cases of these “innocent people” could be pursued.

While thanking his lawyers and family members, Qureshi said he had found solace in his wife and children’s unwavering support as they not only stood with him but encouraged him not to succumb to any pressure because of them.

He also questioned his arrest under the MPO, saying how could he incite anyone when he was in prison.

He added that his lawyer had challenged his arrest under the MPO and when the prosecution could not produce any concrete evidence, he was released from jail.

Refusing to take any more questions, he said that he would meet Imran and then hold a news conference again to respond  to the queries.

In a related development, the Punjab police in their report revealed that nine FIRs  -- five in Multan and four in Lahore -- had been registered against Qureshi.

LHC’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi was hearing a plea filed by the PTI vice chairman’s daughter seeking the details of undisclosed or the new FIRs on or after May 9, 2023 if registered anywhere against her father.

As the police submitted its report, Justice Najafi disposed of the petition.

Separately, the caretaker Punjab government has challenged an anti-terrorism court’s (ATC) decision to discharge PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid of the charges of instigating an attack on the Jinnah House, where the Lahore corps commander was residing, on May 9.

The interim provincial government filed a petition in the LHC, challenging the Lahore ATC’s June 3 order to release the former provincial health minister.

The petition contended that the trial court discharged the PTI leader in contradiction with the facts.

It requested the LHC to declare the ATC’s order for release of the PTI leader “null and void”, arguing that she led the mob that attacked the Jinnah House following the arrest of the PTI chief.

On June 3, the police requested ATC Administrative Judge Abher Gul Khan to remand Dr Yasmin in their custody for 14 more days for further investigation involving photogrammetry, voice match tests and recovery of mobile phones.

The judge, however, discharged the PTI leader, who also served as a provincial minister in the cabinet of Usman Buzdar, along with 23 other suspects.

In a brief order issued after the hearing, the judge said the perusal of the record revealed that Dr Yasmin was neither nominated in the FIR lodged after the May 9 vandalism in Lahore nor involved in the case through a supplementary statement.

“She was summoned in the case on the disclosure of a co-accused which has no evidentiary value in the eyes of the law. Since no incriminating evidence is available on record to connect her with the commission of [the offense], therefore the request of the IO [investigation officer] is turned down,” the judge noted.

“She is accordingly discharged from the instant case. She [will] be forthwith released, if not required in any other case,” the order read.

Later, the Punjab police announced challenging the ATC order in the LHC as IGP Dr Usman Anwar claimed that Dr Yasmin was one of the planners of the attacks on public and military properties and memorials on May 9.

He added that 215 calls were made to incite the mob in Lahore by PTI leaders including Hammad Azhar, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Murad Raas, Mahmoodur Rasheed,  Ijaz Chaudhry and Dr Yasmin on May 8 and May 9.

According to the IGP, 41 of these calls were made by Dr Yasmin.

The department has also issued a forensic analysis report stating that Dr Yasmin was present outside the Jinnah House on May 9.

The IGP said the police had enough evidence to take the case to trial and prove before the court that the PTI leaders were not innocent and involved in the attacks on military installations.