Anti-terrorism court indicts ex-Pakistan foreign minister Qureshi in May 9 violence case

Lahore, July 15

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Monday charged top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a case involving the burning down of a police station during the May 9 violence last year.

Qureshi, 68, who was brought to the Kot Lakhpat jail here from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi under tight security, has several cases related to May 9 violence, including arson, filed against him at the Shadman police station.

The court had summoned Qureshi to initiate indictment proceedings against him and ordered the prosecution to present witnesses in the next hearing scheduled for July 22.

Qureshi, who was produced before ATC Judge Khalid Arshad, however, denied the charges.

“As Qureshi was presented before the ATC judge, charges were framed against him for his alleged abetment in torching Lahore’s Shadman police station. Qureshi pleaded not guilty and maintained that a fake case has been instituted against him for being loyal to Imran Khan,” a court official said after the hearing.

The indictment of Qureshi, who is also the vice-chairman of PTI, came hours before the Pakistan government announced its decision to ban Khan’s PTI for its alleged involvement in anti-state activities.

The Lahore police had registered a case against several leaders and activists of PTI on the charges of attacking and burning down the Shadman police station during the May 9 riots following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan by the Rangers in an alleged corruption case.

Besides this case, multiple cases related to the May 9 violence have been lodged against Qureshi in Lahore alone.

Qureshi has been in prison since he and Khan, 71, were sentenced by a Pakistani court to 10 years in jail for violating the Official Secrets Act by making a diplomatic cable public when the PTI founder was in power.

Though Islamabad High Court on June 3 acquitted Khan and Qureshi in the Cipher case, suspending their 10-year sentence, the two remain in jail as they are named in multiple cases in connection with the May 9 violence across Pakistan.

Qureshi was earlier this year indicted in eight more cases related to the May 9 violence.

The May 9 riots were triggered across the country after Khan was arrested by National Accountability Bureau in the 190-million-pound corruption case. He is currently facing over 200 cases and has been in jail since August last year.

Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations, including the Jinnah House, ISI building in Faisalabad and General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, last year on May 9.