Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested on Wednesday hours after party’s secretary general Asad Umar was taken into custody from the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) premises. PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also said that the police was waiting outside the Supreme Court (SC) to arrest him as soon as he gets out. In a statement issued from inside the court, the former information minister said that, “We are inside the Supreme Court building to challenge the arrest of Imran Khan. I got my own order from the Islamabad High Court, which declares that the police cannot arrest without informing the court. Despite clear orders of protective bail, the police is all set to flout court orders and arrest me. They are outside the SC building and waiting for me to come out.” Earlier in the day, party leader Asad Umar was arrested by the Islamabad police from the gate near the IHC’s writ branch. According to PTI lawyer Advocate Faisal Chaudhry, the former minister was arrested from the “small gate” of the court. The lawyer further stated that he did not know under which case the arrest was made.

Referring to the PTI leader’s arrest, the party, on its official Twitter account, termed it another “under the court premises by this fascist regime”. “The courts are not respected anymore in this country, democracy is completely suspended”. The party urged the nation to “come out” and “save this country”. PTI leader and former human rights minister Shireen Mazari said that Asad Umar was “arrested by [the] anti-terror squad from IHC”. “Seems IHC area has become a fertile ground to illegally arrest PTI leaders,” she said. “Fascism confirmed. They can’t get the terrorists but PTI leaders are now terrorists for [the] cabal of crooks and the State?” Mazari questioned, calling the situation “despicable”.