PDM to take Safdar arrest issue to logical end

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – a newly formed alliance of the opposition parties – has condemned “in strongest terms” the arrest of PML-N leader Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar during his visit to Karachi and announced to take the matter to its logical conclusion.

The PDM made this announcement on Wednesday in a press conference addressed by the PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal and JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Akram Khan Durrani at the Parliament Lodges.

In a high drama, Captain (retd) Safdar – the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – was arrested from the hotel room of his wife Maryam Nawaz in Karachi on Monday morning for allegedly disrespecting the mausoleum of the Founder of the Nation, only to be released by a court hours later.

Safdar, who was in Karachi along with his wife to attend the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) rally, had allegedly chanted slogans at the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah when he paid a visit to the place on Sunday along with other party leaders ahead of the rally.

Soon after the arrest, former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair – who is also the spokesperson of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz – appeared on some TV channels to claim that Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar was coerced into arresting Safdar.

Referring to his conversation with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Zubair had claimed that Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar was kidnapped by Rangers at 4 in the morning and brought to a military office where he was forced to issue the orders for the arrest.

On Tuesday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing a news conference, requested the army chief and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to investigate how the Sindh police chief was pressured into registering a case against the PML-N leader.

Soon after Bilawal’s press conference, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered an inquiry into the incident and directed the Karachi Corps Commander to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible.

Talking with reference to the army’s inquiry, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Asharaf said the opposition is waiting for the inquiry report.

“PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a judicious decision. We also appreciate the army chief’s wise decision to order an inquiry. In view of the inquiry, we will not take any action for ten days,” he added.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who also served as the prime minister from 2017 to 2018, said this is the first incident in the country’s history when an IGP was kidnapped.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has not said a word on the incident and he is dragging the army into politics,” he said.  Abbasi said the IGP was kidnapped from his house at night and whatever happened to him is now on record.

“Personnel of federal government institutions besieged the police chief’s residence and officials of a particular organization whisked him away. This is like a collision between the federal and the provincial governments. It is an attempt to violate the Constitution and create anarchy,” he said.

He said the PML-N and the PDM express solidarity with the Sindh government. “This is a big incident and it must come to the light,” the PML-N senior vice president added.    

Ahsan Iqbal said this incident showed violation of the Constitution and a grave crime. “If the Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of this incident, it can even send the federal government packing.”

JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri alleged that the police entered Maryam’s hotel room at the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Akram Khan Durrani chipped in that this incident was unprecedented.

Separately, the PML-N also held a press conference in Lahore demanding that the army chief include in the inquiry the people who barged into Maryam’s room on Monday morning as well as the people who ordered this move. They also demanded that the people who did this must apologize to Maryam Nawaz.