FIR against PML-N’s Safdar quashed

KARACHI:

In an interesting development, a local court in Karachi has quashed a case filed against PML-N leader Captain (retd) Safdar for allegedly desecrating the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam, ahead of an opposition parties rally on October 18.

Judicial Magistrate East Wazeer Hussain Memon on Wednesday unveiled his 7-page written order which he had reserved a few days back after hearing arguments of both the parties.

The court rejected the report submitted by the investigating officer, seeking action against the complainant – a worker of the ruling PTI Waqas Ahmend Khan – for filing a "fake case”.

The court also dismissed the federal government’s application against the Sindh Police's move to declare the case "fake". The PTI led federal government had urged the court to order relevant authorities to take action against Captain (retd) Safdar who is the spouse of the PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz.

The magistrate noted that the Sindh Police's recommendation for disposal of the first information report (FIR) under B-class was not reasonable as there was not sufficient evidence to declare the FIR as “maliciously false” and to initiate proceedings against the complainant, Waqas Ahmend Khan

The written order said the complainant claimed that the investigating officer failed to bring out the facts. However, according to the investigating officer, he issued three notices to the complainant to record his and other witnesses’ statements but they did not show up.

According to the order, the investigating officer also recorded the statement of Qari Muhammad Shams Uddin who recites Fateha at the mausoleum. The Qari in his statement said Captain (retd) Safdar only chanted “vote ko izzat do” slogan.

Shams told the police that the mausoleum was closed for public on that day and neither he nor the mausoleum security chief saw the complainant or his companion at the mausoleum when the PML-N workers and leaders visited the place.

The CCTV footage also did not prove the presence of the complainant at the mausoleum. There is no record of any damage to mausoleum, the order added.

In a high drama, Captain (retd) Safdar – the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – was arrested from a hotel room in Karachi on October 19 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 Maryam Nawaz 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 along with other party leaders ahead of the rally.

A video of Safdar excitedly shouting PML-N’s famous slogan vote ko izzat dau [respect public mandate] inside the mausoleum had gone viral on social media with a number of people deeming it as an inappropriate behaviour on part of the PML-N leader.

However, no one expected that the authorities would swing into action within hours after the mausoleum visit, as law enforcing agencies allegedly barged into the room where Safdar and his wife were staying early Monday morning and took him into custody.

Maryam Nawaz was the first person to break the news on micro-blogging site Twitter at 7 am. “Police broke my room door at the hotel I was staying at in Karachi and arrested Capt Safdar,” she wrote.

It later transpired that the PML-N leader was arrested on basis of a first information report (FIR) registered at Brigade Police Station on the complaint of Waqas Ahmed Khan.

Waqas had claimed that he was present at the mausoleum at the time of the incident along with a friend and had tried to stop Safdar, who, he alleged, had threatened him with dire consequences.

The arrest had whipped up another controversy when Sindh former governor Muhammad Zubair – who is also the spokesperson of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz – appeared on some TV channels to claim that Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar was coerced into arresting Safdar.

Referring to his conversation with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Zubair said: “Inspector General Police (IGP) Sindh Mushtaq Mahar was kidnapped by Rangers at 4 in the morning and brought to the sector commander office where he was forced to issue the orders for the arrest.” 

After a few hours of controversy, Captain Safdar was presented in a court where a judicial magistrate had granted him bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000.