Claim: Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested.
Fact: Shah Mahmood Qureshi was not arrested.
On 10 May 2023, following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, a number of social media users claimed that the party’s vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also arrested.
At the time of publishing, a number of PTI leaders have been arrested, including senior vice-president Fawad Chaudhary, former federal minister Asad Umer, and former MNA Aliya Hamza.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check spoke to Imran Ghazali, the digital media strategist for Imran Khan and PTI who confirmed that Shah Mahmood Qureshi has not been arrested.
“A few hours later, Qureshi himself also tweeted a clarification: I have not been arrested, as yet. However be warned! Every kind of strategy is in place to spread disinformation, create chaos, panic and terror, to try and break the spirit of our party and supporters. Let me warn you, this is a huge mistake. The people of Pakistan will NOT sit in their homes. No fear! PROTEST! @PTIofficial #ReleaseImranKhan”
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary forces on May 9, 2023, outside the High Court in Islamabad, where he was facing corruption charges. His arrest sparked violent protests across the country, with his supporters clashing with police and attacking military and government buildings. At least one person was killed and 43 were arrested just in Islamabad. The army has been deployed in several provinces. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), denounced his arrest as a political vendetta and called for nationwide demonstrations. Khan has pleaded not guilty and has accused the current government of being corrupt and subservient to the military.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found several posts on Facebook claiming the same. These posts reached over 65,000 reactions and were viewed more than 2.09 million times.
Some of these claims can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. On Instagram we found the posts here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Shah Mahmood Qureshi was not arrested.