LAHORE: Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, President of the defunct Muslim League, was arrested here yesterday at the residence of Salahuddin Choudhri, a member of the National Assembly. Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan has been arrested under Section 3 of the West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960.

A West Pakistan Government announcement yesterday said the Government was “constrained to take this action” with a view “to preventing him from acting in a manner prejudicial to public safety and the maintenance of public order”.

Abdul Qayyum Khan has been detained for three months, and will be treated as an A-class detenue, the announcement said. Khan Qayyum, who addressed a public meeting in Lahore last week, has been lodged in the Lahore jail. The Government announcement said that the trend of Qayyum’s speeches “has clearly been to cause confusion in the public mind with a view to disturbing safety and public order in West Pakistan”.

“Since the return of consitutionalism, Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan has been indulging in activities which were intended to subvert. The speeches made by Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan at different places during the last few days are clearly indicative of his efforts towards causing public disorder and jeopardising public safety,” it added. —Lahore Correspondent