ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday annulled the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and ordered his release.
The IHC declared the arrest of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi under the MPO as “illegal” and ordered his release. The directives were issued by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb while hearing a petition challenging Qureshi’s arrest.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi was detained by capital police last week. Several PTI leaders, including Qureshi, had been arrested for “inciting violent protests” following party chief Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case from the IHC premises on May 9.
The court inquired about any registered case against the PTI leader to which the state counsel responded that he would have to look into it. The judge, seemingly determined not to “go out of the box”, issued the release order for the PTI leader shortly after hearing arguments from both sides. The judge declared the 3-MPO (power to arrest and detain suspected persons), under which the former minister was arrested, null and void.
