Former federal minister and PTI leader, Asad Umar, has reportedly been detained in Islamabad, according to statements made by his political party.
The PTI legal team claims that Umar’s arrest is linked to an FIR related to the misplacement of a US cipher.
This comes shortly after Shah Mahmood Qureshi, another PTI leader and former foreign minister, was also apprehended in the same case. Notably, Umar had been arrested previously in May, right outside the Islamabad High Court.
Local sources indicate that the police took him into custody due to concerns about potential disruptions to public order, invoking Section 3 of the MPO.
This development followed the arrests of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Ali Zaidi, a prominent PTI leader in Sindh, adding to a series of high-profile detentions within the party.
Earlier a day, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested from his residence in Islamabad.
According to the media reports, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) executed the arrest within the jurisdiction of his Islamabad residence. This arrest came as the ongoing investigation into the cryptic communication that PTI claims contained a perceived threat from the United States aimed at toppling Imran Khan from his position of power.
PTI, in an official statement, has confirmed Qureshi’s arrest at his residence, detailing that he is currently en route to the FIA headquarters situated in the heart of the federal capital.
It is pertinent to mention here that this arrest unfolded shortly after Qureshi had convened a press conference where he refuted rumors of internal discord among party leaders vying for leadership in the absence of the incarcerated party head, Imran Khan.
Earlier, PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s lawyer Sher Afzal Khan Marwat said on Wednesday that Islamabad Police kidnapped former PTI lawmaker Shandana Gulzar Khan at gunpoint.
In a tweet, Marwat said that Shandana Gulzar was ‘abducted at gunpoint’ by Islamabad Police at 5pm on Wednesday. “Her mother has confirmed this to me, who is an eyewitness to the ghastly incident,” he said.
