Shah Mehmood Qureshi vows to stand with PTI amid exodus

• "I stand where I was," Shah Mehmood Qureshi says.
• Senior leader says he wasn't involved in any vandalism.
• PTI leader says five fabricated cases are registered against him.

MULTAN: Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reiterated his unwavering support to the party despite fellow members switching sides since the last few weeks.

"I stand where I was," he firmly said on Saturday while speaking to the media in Multan.

This statement from Qureshi carries significance as several PTI politicians have recently joined the newly-formed Istihkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), led by the senior politician Jahangir Tareen. Meanwhile, other members are exploring alternative options or distancing themselves from the party following the disruptive events of May 9.

The politician reiterated his stance while speaking to journalists outside a sessions court in Multan, where he attended the hearing of cases against him related to the May 9 riots.

Last week, the PTI leader had criticised Tareen's party, describing it "dead on arrival" due to its lacklustre launch.

"My conscience is satisfied, my hands are clean," he added.

Qureshi said five fabricated cases were registered against him in Multan pertaining to the vandalism and none of the 13 charges mentioned in FIRs were proven true.

Further speaking about the cases, the senior politician said he was not even present in Multan on the day the incidents took place.

"There should be some fear of God in the administration," he said, criticising the government's actions against him in the city.

"I was arrested in Islamabad. Went to the jail in Adiala, while the cases were registered in Multan," he said, adding that the administration's credibility has been affected by the false cases.

Qureshi said the court has granted him pre-arrest bail. "I was not involved in any vandalism nor am I in favour of it."

"I have only done politics of patriotism in the last 40 years. As a foreign minister, I have defended Pakistani institutions around the world," he said.

Talking about the orders issued by Islamabad High Court's Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Qureshi said: "I felt satisfied that there are judges who make decisions on merit according to the law."

The judge had declared the politician's arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law “illegal” and ordered his release, as he was among the top PTI leaders arrested from Islamabad within 24 hours of the outbreak of violent protests by PTI workers following party chief Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.