Islamabad, May 18 (UNI) The Islamabad High Court on Thursday declared the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law “illegal” and ordered his release.

The directives were issued by IHC’s Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb while hearing a petition challenging Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s arrest, Geo news reports.

The court while issuing the release orders directed the PTI leader to submit an undertaking similar to the one given by former state minister Ali Muhammad Khan.

Qureshi’s lawyers informed the court that they would submit the undertaking after consulting the PTI leader, according to media reports.

Qureshi was among the top PTI leaders arrested from Islamabad within 24 hours of the outbreak of violent protests by PTI workers following former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest as the government tightened the noose around the party.

He was taken into custody in the early hours of May 11 after the police raided Gilgit-Baltistan House in Islamabad under Section 3 (3MPO).

The former foreign minister was arrested by the police in cases of riots and arsons in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said back then.

However, before his arrest, the PTI leader encouraged party workers to continue their struggle for "true freedom" in the country.