'Physically, mentally tortured in prison,' Former Pak FM tells court

New Delhi: The former Foreign Minister of Pakistan and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday told a court in Rawalpindi that he was physically and mentally tortured in prison, media report said.

“I was physically and mentally torture in prison last night after I as illegally abducted outside from a prison,” Qureshi said while recording his statement during a hearing at the Rawalpindi Judicial Complex.

The reports said that the court has reserved its verdict.

Reportedly, Qureshi was released from Adiala Jail on Wednesday after the Supreme Court had approved his post-arrest bail in the cipher case. However, the PTI leader, who tried to talk to the Punjab Police on multiple occasions, was pushed and whisked away from the prison.

“The PTI leader was arrested in a case related to May 9 violence. Qureshi was initially moved to the Cantt police station by the police, who maltreated him,” media reports from Pakistan said.

It said that on Thursday, Qureshi was brought to the court of Duty Magistrate Syed Jahangir Ali in an armoured police van. A video shared by the PTI on social media showed policemen escorting a hand-cuffed Qureshi.

Speaking to media persons ahead of the hearing, the PTI leader’s daughter Meher Bano Qureshi expressed displeasure at the security arrangement made outside the court. “It seems as if they are presenting a terrorist,” she said.

“No one is allowed to enter the Judicial Complex,” Meher Bano pointed out, adding that the police’s behaviour was disappointing.