Pakistan ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former foreign minister of Pakistan and a close associate of imprisoned ex-prime minister Imran Khan, was apprehended by police at his Islamabad residence on Saturday (August 19).

Qureshi, the Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested and taken to the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) headquarters, as per a report by news agency PTI. While the exact charges that led to his detention are unknown, the FIA is currently questioning imprisoned PTI leader Imran Khan in connection with a case involving a missing diplomatic cable. This cable, which Khan cited as proof of a "foreign conspiracy" to depose him in April of the previous year, has become central to the investigation, it said.

The PTI said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been illegally arrested once again."