Islamabad [Pakistan], November 24 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser has been re-arrested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ARY News reported on Thursday.
As per details, police have arrested former Speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaiser in a vandalism case and took him to Charsadda police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under strict security measures.
Hours before being re-arrested, the anti-corruption court in Abbottabad on Thursday granted bail to PTI leader Qaiser in a corruption case.
PTI condemned his arrest and expressed concerns regarding the transparency of the elections, which are due to be held on February 8, 2024.
PTI spokesperson said, "Asad Qaiser's arrest is a question mark on the role of the election commission in staging fair polls. The series of leaders' arrests is a conspiracy to keep PTI out of the election race."
Qaiser, who is suspected of corruption in the acquisition of equipment for Gajju Khan Medical College (GKMC), was apprehended on November 3 in Bani Gala, Islamabad.
According to the FIR, Asad and four health department workers caused a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer via corruption in the acquisition of equipment for the GKMC during the previous PTI government, ARY News reported.
The former NA speaker was elected twice, once from a National Assembly seat and once from a provincial assembly electorate.
Following the 2013 general elections, he was elected speaker of the provincial assembly, and his success in the 2018 elections elevated him to the position of NA speaker.
The arrest is yet another blow for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is already mired in court fights since its senior leadership is imprisoned.
Notably, PTI's top leadership, including its chairman Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, continued to remain in prison in the same facility for their jail trial in the cypher case, Geo News reported.
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