The leader of Pakistan's Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, has been detained by authorities, a spokesman for the party said on August 19 as a crackdown on the former ruling party widens.
Spokesman Zulfi Bukhari announced the detention of Qureshi, who earlier on August 19 told reporters that the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan would challenge any delay in the country's election.
Qureshi is the vice chairman of PTI, led by Khan, who is currently in jail after being convicted on corruption charges that he denies.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi last week ordered parliament dissolved on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Elections must be held within 90 days under law, but the outgoing government has warned they are likely to be delayed until next year.
Authorities recently have made arrests targeting Tehrik-e Insaf party, rounding up thousands of Khan's supporters as well as senior leaders.
Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Khan's government, was arrested in Islamabad shortly after giving a press conference in which he slammed authorities for delaying elections.
"He was arrested from his residence by Islamabad police. We don't have any further details yet," a PTI statement said.
The caretaker government has not yet commented on the arrest of Qureshi, who was previously arrested in connection with protests against Khan's arrest.
Islamabad police on May 11 arrested Qureshi on several charges, including "inciting violent protests," but the Islamabad High Court ordered his release. He was arrested again by police in Punjab Province and again released on June 6 after the Rawalpindi Division of the Lahore High Court ordered his immediate release.
Khan, a former international cricket star, was jailed earlier this month after being convicted of graft in one of the more than 200 cases he has faced since being ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
The three-year sentence disqualifies him from taking part in elections, although many politicians -- including Sharif and his brother, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- have in the past have had convictions overturned, clearing the way for a comeback.
Shehbaz Sharif in a speech on August 9 after parliament was dissolved defended the record of his coalition government, saying it had succeeded in improving the economic and political situation of the country during its more than one year in office.
He said actions taken after last year's floods and the restoration of a loan program with the International Monetary Fund were examples.
Long-term challenges remain, but Sharif said the way forward "has clearly been identified and actions initiated in that direction.”