Screengrab of Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s press conference
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday warned of retaliation if the incumbent government placed party chief Imran Khan under arrest after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the former prime minister can be arrested after his bail expires.
“The PTI will retaliate in a strong manner if Imran Khan is arrested,” Qureshi told journalists in Islamabad after a meeting of his party’s core committee. “If PTI workers receive news of Imran Khan’s arrest, they should come out with a quick response to it,” he added.
Referring to Sanaullah’s warning, the former foreign minister said it would be a political mistake.
Responding to questions during his press conference, Qureshi reiterated that no PTI lawmaker would appear before National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to verify their resignations, maintaining that the party’s resignation had already been accepted by former deputy speaker Qasim Suri.
To another question, he said the PTI would participate in the by-elections for 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly—a curious assertion considering the party otherwise keeps calling for the dissolution of assemblies and early elections. Observers say this move is necessary for the PTI to potentially regain its majority in the Punjab Assembly and oust the government of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, political analysts in Punjab have noted that the seats under question were mostly contested and won by independent candidates, adding that it is unclear if the PTI has managed to build a vote-bank in those constituencies in the past four years.
In a seeming preview of the PTI’s response if the polls don’t go its way, Qureshi alleged that the government wanted to use police and the district administration to rig the results of the election in their favor. He said the PTI’s core committee had also expressed concerns about the economic situation of the country.
In accordance with law
In a response to Qureshi’s warnings, the interior minister stressed that anyone who breaks the law would be dealt with strictly in accordance with law. “Martyrdom of an innocent police officer, using weapons and ammunition is not a political reaction,” he said, referring to last month’s killing of constable Kamal Ahmed by a PTI worker in Lahore. The government cannot act as a mere spectator if the PTI “lies and creates anarchy,” he added.
“Law and order will be strictly implemented; we will not break the law nor will we allow it,” he said. Earlier, he had issued a statement claiming that the same police that had been tasked with ensuring Khan’s security in Islamabad would also take him into custody—once his bail expires. This had set off panic among the PTI, who have accused Sanaullah of instigating unrest.
On Saturday night, ahead of Khan’s return to his Bani Gala residence from Peshawar—where he had been for the past week—Islamabad police had said security around the home had been beefed up and placed on high alert.