May 9 violence: LHC orders immediate release of Shah Mahmood Qureshi

LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was put in detention following the May 9 protests. 

The Rawalpindi bench of the high court issued the verdict, declaring a notification issued by the city’s deputy commissioner for PTI stalwart’s detention under 3 MPO. It also stopped the authorities from arresting the former foreign minister under this section. 

Mr Qureshi’s lawyer Taimoor Malik and his daughter Gohar Bano Qureshi appeared before the court to submit arguments against his detention. 

On May 23, the vice-chairman of PTI was re-arrested soon after being released from the Adiala Jail. The PTI on its Twitter handle said Qureshi was arrested after he refused to leave the party.

Qureshi was among the top PTI leaders arrested from Islamabad within 24 hours of the violent protests that had erupted on May 9 following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

He was taken into custody in the early hours of May 11 after the police raided Gilgit-Baltistan House in Islamabad under Section 3 (3MPO).

Last week, the party's top deserters visited Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Adiala jail in an effort to persuade him to change his loyalty, according to reports.

Qureshi was met in prison by a group of PTI defectors, including party heavyweights Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail, Mahmood Moulvi, and Aamir Kiani, who attempted to persuade him to break up with the Imran Khan.