Pakistan’s former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was admitted to a hospital after collapsing in his barrack at a jail in Lahore, a prison official said on Tuesday.
Qureshi suffered a dizzy spell while walking inside his barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Monday, injuring his knee and arm in the fall, according to the official.
Qureshi has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases linked to the May 9, 2023, riots, when Tehreek-i-Insaf supporters went on a rampage following the arrest of party chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Over 90 bail hearings have gone by, but the record has yet to be produced. “My father has been acquitted multiple times but remains behind bars due to the government’s malafide.
Meanwhile, Qureshi’s daughter alleged that her father had been jailed on “trumped-up” charges and accused the federal government of keeping him behind bars with “malafide” intent. He not only fought the cypher case with resolve and courage but refused to sacrifice his principles at the altar of self-interest,” Mehr Bano said. “Three and a half years ago, a hale and hearty lion heart was sent to jail on trumped-up charges. A man whose innocence has been proven again and again is being held… It is high time the judge establishes his authority and grants him bail,” she demanded. “He has served twice as Pakistan’s foreign minister, and as parliamentary leader and vice-chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he has fulfilled important responsibilities and protected Pakistan’s interests. He has fought for the supremacy of the Constitution and democracy. He deserves justice and freedom,” she stated.