 "Watch: Former Pakistan foreign minister Qureshi manhandled by police")
Former Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was re-arrested today just as he was being released from Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail after getting bail in the cipher case.
Qureshi, who is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's vice-chairman, was seen getting pushed and dragged all the way into an armoured police vehicle in footage shared by the PTI party on social media.
In a post on social media platform X, the party said Qureshi was again arrested from outside the Adiala jail after being released on bail in the cipher case.
In the footage, Qureshi was seen saying, "I was released on bail by the Supreme Court; this is injustice; I am being punished for serving the nation." Qureshi added that the police were making a mockery of the Supreme Court's orders, and cruelty and injustice were at their peak.
The videos show Qureshi being shoved into the police vehicle as bystanders are heard asking the officials to be "careful" with the 67-year-old former foreign minister.
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On December 22, Pakistan's Supreme Court granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan and his aide Qureshi in the cipher case and told them to submit surety bonds worth Rs 1 million each.
Qureshi's daughter had said that she hoped her father would be released as his arrest was not required in any other case.
Why has Shah Mahmood Qureshi been re-arrested?
On December 26, Qureshi's family went to Adiala jail to pay his surety bond, but before they could get his release order, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema issued an order for Qureshi's 15-day detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
Section 3 of MPO allows the government to arrest and detain suspected persons to stop them from "acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order".
The law further states that the government could extend the period of such detention from time to time if necessary, "for a period not exceeding six months at a time."
The PTI party said that the order issued on Tuesday by the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner for Qureshi's 15-day detention had been withdrawn.
What is the cipher case?
The cipher case is related to the release of a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington early last year. Both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood have been accused of making the document public.
Khan has denied revealing its content publicly, even though he claimed that the cable is proof of a US conspiracy to push the Pakistani military to oust him in a parliamentary vote in 2022.