Despite other members switching sides in recent weeks, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has underlined his unshakable support for the party.
“I stand where I was,” he claimed firmly to the reporters in Multan on Saturday.
Qureshi’s statement is significant because some PTI politicians have lately joined the newly founded Istihkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), which is led by prominent politician Jahangir Tareen. Following the disruptive events of May 9, other members are considering alternate choices or separating themselves from the party.
The politician restated his views to journalists outside a sessions court in Multan, where he was attending the hearing of cases against him in connection with the May 9 riots.
Last week, Tareen’s party was dubbed “dead on arrival” by the PTI leader due to its weak launch.
“My conscience has been satisfied, and my hands are clean,” he added.
Qureshi said that five false vandalism cases were filed against him in Multan and that none of the 13 counts listed in the FIRs were proven genuine.
Speaking further about the incidents, the senior lawmaker stated that he was not even in Multan on the day they occurred.
“There should be some fear of God in the administration,” he remarked, referring to the government’s actions in the city against him.
“I was detained in Islamabad. “I went to the jail in Adiala, while the cases were registered in Multan,” he added, adding that the fake cases have harmed the administration’s confidence.
According to Qureshi, the court has granted him pre-arrest bail. “I was not involved in any vandalism, nor do I support it.”
“In the last 40 years, I’ve only done patriotism politics.” “I have defended Pakistani institutions all over the world as foreign minister,” he continued.
Qureshi stated of the judgments given by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court, “I felt satisfied that there are judges who make decisions on merit according to the law.”
The judge ruled that the politician’s arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law was “illegal” and ordered his release because he was one of the top PTI leaders arrested from Islamabad within 24 hours of the outbreak of violent protests by PTI workers following the arrest of party chief Imran Khan on May 9.
