SC urged to take suo motu notice of ‘Karachi incident’

Civil society, rights activists say external interference must end

The Sindh Bar Council (SBC) urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday to take suo motu notice of reports of the abduction of Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar, allegedly by Rangers, and him being forced to issue orders for the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Maryam Nawaz's husband, Captain (retd) Safdar.

In a statement, the SBC pointed out that the reports of Mahar's abduction from his residence in the wee hours of Monday had not been contradicted by the relevant authority yet and were "tacitly confirmed by the Sindh government."

Referring to the collective leave applications by Sindh Police's top brass and subsequently by the lower ranks, submitted on Tuesday and withdrawn later the same night, the SBC's statement said the move signified the "a complete breakdown of the rule of law and an undeclared martial law."

According to the Sindh Police statement, "This [requesting leave] was a spontaneous and heartfelt reaction and made on an individual rather than a collective basis, because every single member of the department felt an acute sense of disrespect."

The officials later withdrew the applications, deferring their leave requests for 10 days, after Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered a probe into the incident.

Regretting the saga, the SBC expressed disappointment over the judiciary playing a "silent spectator in the face of this creeping martial law and… widely being seen as a facilitator of elements who wish to carry out extra-constitutional role."

In its statement, the lawyers' body said it felt "that unless this trend of military interference in civil and judicial administration is immediately reversed, it will permanently damage the public reputation and trust not only in the government and the judiciary of Pakistan, but also the beloved Armed Forces of Pakistan."

Calling for the apex court to take notice of the matter and fix it for hearing and enquiry before a full court of the SC, it further requested it to issue notices to the vice-chairpersons of all bar councils, Supreme Court Bar Association president and high court bar associations' presidents to address the serious implications "the ongoing crisis" poses for the rule of law and constitutionalism in the country.

Expressing solidarity

Meanwhile, expressing concern regarding the events leading up to Safdar's arrest and the subsequent protest by the Sindh Police, civil society and rights activists issued a statement on Wednesday calling for a judicial inquiry into the matter.

"The morale of the Sindh Police officers has been negatively impacted due to unfortunate developments during [Safdar's] arrest from a hotel room in Karachi," the joint statement quoted its signatories, including members of the Sindh Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission (SPSPCC), as saying.

There were reports that the IGP was kidnapped by unidentified armed persons and was forced to sign arrest orders for opposition leader Safdar, stated civil society activists.

They pointed out that Sindh's civil society had fought legal battles for effective rule of law and the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Act 1861 and Revival of Police Order 2002) (Amendment) Act, 2019, was passed by the provincial assembly.

Under this legislation, an oversight mechanism has been put in place to receive complaints against matters pertaining to the police and policing, they noted, adding that the SPSPCC is an active body, with some members inducted from civil society.

They condemned the incident and insisted that external interference must be stopped for an independent and strong police force. They demanded an inquiry, led by a high court judge, to determine responsibility behind the alleged incident and called for action against those responsible.

The signatories, including Karamat Ali, Rubina Brohi, Asad Iqbal Butt, Anis Haroon, Nasir Mansoor, Mahnaz Rehman, Habibuddin Junaidi and others, expressed solidarity with the provincial police force.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2020.