Gen Bajwa orders inquiry into ‘Karachi incident’

By News Desk

RAWALPINDI/KARACHI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday took notice of “Karachi incident” and directed the Corps Commander Karachi to inquire into the matter.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said the Army chief had directed the Commander Karachi Corps to immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible.

The statement came after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at a news conference in the metropolis called for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Capt (retd) Safdar, the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a day earlier.

Capt (retd) Safdar was taken into custody from his hotel room on Monday morning for raising “political slogans” inside the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam and released on bail later in the afternoon. Capt (retd) Safdar, his wife and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and 200 other unidentified persons were booked for “violating the sanctity” of Quaid’s shrine. Maryam and PML-N leaders and supporters had visited Quaid’s mausoleum to pay homage to the Father of the Nation ahead of the second power show of the 11-party opposition alliance – Pakistan Democratic Movement — in Karachi on Sunday, when the alleged incident happened.

Bilawal alleged the police was influenced to register a complaint against Safdar. The PPP chairman said every police officer in Sindh was wondering who had “surrounded IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”. “Who were the two persons who went inside the IG’s house at 2am and where was our IG taken at 4am in the morning?” he asked. The PPP chief said interference in police matters was intolerable. “Whatever happened to Maryam Sharif and Captain Safdar Sahab is extremely shameful...I am ashamed and cannot show my face at how this happened in my province,” said Bilawal, adding: “How can such a politically weak case, involving sloganeering at the Mazar-e-Quaid, stir up such a storm.”

Holding the Prime Minister responsible for dual standards, the PPP chief said Imran Khan and PTI workers had also resorted to sloganeering at Quaid’s mausoleum in the past.

Later, Bilawal House Media Cell in a statement said Gen Bajwa and Bilawal spoke on telephone “to discuss the Karachi incident”. It said the PPP chairman “expressed his appreciation” to the Army chief “for taking prompt notice of the Karachi incident and his assurance of conducting a transparent inquiry on the incident”.

In another development, top brass of Sindh police, including the provincial police chief Mushtaq Mahar, had reportedly decided to go on leave citing demoralisation of the police force.

According to Geo News, over a dozen senior police officers had submitted requests for leave. An application signed by AIG Special Branch, which had been making the rounds on social media, read he wished to proceed on leave because the police high command had been “ridiculed and mishandled”, leading to demoralisation within its ranks.

A day earlier, Sindh Police’s Digital Media Cell had tweeted, then deleted, then tweeted again a statement defending Capt Safdar’s arrest, saying it was done “according to the law”.

The department’s Twitter activity, which indicated not all was well within the provincial police, had raised eyebrows.

Controversy had already been brewing over the circumstances surrounding Capt (retd) Safdar’s arrest, with PML-N representatives claiming the police had been put under pressure to arrest him. The Sindh government has publicly distanced itself from the arrest.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a news conference that a ministerial investigation into the circumstances behind Safdar’s arrest would be held.

He also said an attempt was made to put police under pressure, with PTI ministers going to the police on two different occasions to register a case and on a third occasion accompanying the Mazar-e-Quaid board.

They were told by police a summary trial like the one sought falls under the jurisdiction of a judicial magistrate and it was not up to the police to register a case, said the chief minister. Nonetheless, Shah said, the complainant had “manufactured” a complaint saying he had been threatened with his life, due to which police had to take action.