Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was arrested by Islamabad police in the early hours of Thursday.
However, it is not yet clear how he got arrested police claimed that he was arrested from Muree Expressway, and a bottle of liquor and a weapon were recovered from Ahmed.
However, a spokesperson, on behalf of Ahmed, said in a video message, "Around 12.30, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was arrested from his residence in Punjab province. Around 300-400 people of Islamabad Police entered the minister's house, broke its windows, beat him and took him into their custody. I request PTI workers to reach the court by 7.30 am today."
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Rawalpindi Vice President Raja Inayat Ur Rehman filed a complaint on January 30th against Sheikh Rashid in Islamabad's Aabpara Police Station for alleging that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was hatching a plot to assassinate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.
The complaint said that Rashid had attempted to defame Zardari, creating a permanent threat to him and his family.
Meanwhile, the PTI chief took to Twitter to condemn the arrest of Rashid, referring to the caretaker government appointed by the "totally discredited ECP [Election Commission of Pakistan]" as "biased" and "vindictive."