On a recent Saturday, Qureshi, who also held the influential position of vice-chairman within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party led by the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, was taken into custody.
In a twist that intertwines politics and secrecy, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister of Pakistan and a loyal associate of incarcerated ex-prime minister Imran Khan, has been apprehended by law enforcement from his residence. Qureshi, aged 67, holding the position of Vice Chairman within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was escorted to the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) headquarters following his arrest.
Although the exact allegations leading to Qureshi's detainment remain shrouded, the FIA's ongoing interrogation of imprisoned PTI leader Imran Khan suggests a connection to a missing diplomatic cable. Khan has persistently highlighted this cable as evidence of a "foreign conspiracy" to unseat him as prime minister in the prior year, according to media reports.
In a striking social media declaration, the PTI denounced Qureshi's arrest as "illegal" and drew parallels to his previous detainment on May 11, from which he was released on June 6. Qureshi, who had formerly served as foreign minister during the diplomatic cable incident, has faced turmoil and upheaval amid the political landscape's shifting dynamics.
Notably, Khan's reputation has come under heightened scrutiny since The Intercept, a US media outlet, published an alleged copy of the classified cable. This has led to accusations within the previous government, led by Shehbaz Sharif, pointing fingers at Khan for potentially leaking the sensitive information.
Amidst these controversies, Qureshi's recent arrest has accentuated the existing sense of political turbulence.