Pakistan: Imran Khan's aide held; audio leaks hint at PTI leader role in attacks

As unrest spreads in Pakistan following the arrest of former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, the police on Thursday arrested former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a close aide of Khan.

This comes as the political turmoil left at least eight people dead and led to the deployment of the Army in the country's capital and three provinces. 

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Imran Khan's cabinet during his four-year premiership, was arrested overnight, a statement on his Twitter handle said. The PTI later said two other senior leaders of PTI, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, were also arrested on Wednesday.

A video doing rounds also showed plain-clothed men taking Qureshi away as he waves at his party workers. Qureshi is said to have been moved to an "undisclosed location" by the Islamabad Police.

His arrest comes two days after paramilitary forces whisked away PTI chief and former premier Khan on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials who barged into a room of the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, unrest continues to spread in the country on Wednesday. Following this, the federal government approved requests from two of Pakistan's four provinces - Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal capital Islamabad to deploy troops to restore order. 

As protests rage, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said strict action would be taken against "state's enemies" as he slammed Khan's PTI for violence that gripped the country after his arrest. "The miscreants will be dealt with iron hands. They will be punished according to the law," the prime minister said and urged PTI protesters to immediately stop anti-state activities.

"They attacked sensitive property as if they were enemies. I have never seen such heartbreaking scenes...We will not allow anyone to conspire. We will not let their nefarious agenda succeed," he said.

Audio leaks

A day after Khan's supporters barged into Corps Commanders House in Lahore Cantt, audio leaks have emerged hinting at the role of PTI leaders behind the attacks. According to a report by The Dawn, some PTI leaders were urging party workers to gather at the Corps Commander House and to set it on fire.

The report said PTI's Central Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid was one of the leaders who instigated the attack. Rashid, who is on the run to avoid arrest, claimed that the audio clip was doctored and she had never instructed anyone to torch the house. "I have just gone there to stage a sit-in to protest our leader’s arrest," she added.