Vice chairman of Khan's party arrested by Pakistani police
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Pakistani authorities have recently cracked down on Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party members following Khan's arrest.
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Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi speaks during an interview with AP on September 22, 2021, in New York. (AP)
A spokesperson for imprisoned Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party stated on Saturday that the vice-chairman had been detained as part of a broader crackdown on the previous ruling party.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khan's foreign minister, was detained in Islamabad immediately after a news conference in which he chastised authorities for postponing elections.
In recent months, authorities have taken a tough stance against Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, crushing his grassroots power by rounding up thousands of his supporters and officials.
A PTI spokesperson told AFP that no further details have been provided other than the former foreign minister being arrested at his residence.
After President Arif Alvi, acting on the advice of outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, dissolved parliament last week, interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar -- a little-known politician who is thought to be close to the military -- was sworn in on Monday.
On Thursday, Pakistan swore in a caretaker government led by Kakar, tasked with governing the nation until new elections, which may not take place until after November due to the need to redraw constituency lines.
Political observers claim that if the caretaker government remains in place for longer than is required by the constitution, the military, which has had direct control over the nation for more than three decades of its 76-year history, will be able to entrench its power.
With Pakistan's $350 billion economy traveling a narrow recovery path following a last-minute $3 billion bailout arrangement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), preventing a sovereign debt default with several conditions imposed on the country, the caretaker cabinet claims that its first priority will be to guide the country toward economic stabilization.
Imran Khan is currently imprisoned and barred from running for office for five years, while Kakar, 52, takes over the leadership of a nation that has been plagued by political and economic upheaval for months.
Since Khan was ousted as Prime Minister following a no-confidence vote in April 2022, the nation has seen political unrest, which culminated in his three-year graft prison sentence this weekend.
Although he has been barred from holding public office for five years, he is appealing his conviction and punishment.
