Islamabad(Urdu Times) : The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi from his residence

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi from his residence in Islamabad on Saturday and booked him and Former Prime Minister Imran Khan under the Offical Secrets Act, 1923 in a case pertaining to a diplomatic cypher.

The FIA is currently interrogating incarcerated PTI chief Imran Khan in the case related to the diplomatic cable that reportedly went missing from his custody and which he has for long presented as evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” to remove him as the prime minister.

The first information report (FIR) registered against Qureshi by the FIA refers to the matter and invokes Sections 5 (wrongful communication of information) and 9 (attempt to commit or abet the commission of an offence under this Secrets Act) of the Official Secrets Act read with Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, has been registered on the complaint of Ministry of Interior Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar.

Interim Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti confirmed Qureshi’s arrest on Geo News show Naya Pakistan a while after his party reported it, saying that the former foreign minister had been taken into custody in an investigation pertaining to the cipher.

“He (Qureshi) is nominated in the case and will soon be presented in the court,” Bugti said, adding, “We have to enforce the law and all those nominated in the cipher case will be arrested and presented in court.”

When asked whether Qureshi’s detention was linked to a press conference he held right before his arrest and where he confirmed that he had held meetings with foreign envoys in recent days, Bugti replied in the negative.

However, several PTI leaders maintain that the arrest is linked to the press conference, where Qureshi also refuted reports of rifts within the PTI and announced that the party would be moving the Supreme Court (SC) against the delay in general elections.

Earlier, the PTI posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the party’s vice chairman “has been illegally arrested once again”. The statement said Qureshi was taken into custody “by a large contingent of police” from his residence in the federal capital, adding that he was being taken to the FIA headquarters.