Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered an immediate inquiry into the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Mohammad Safdar Awan in Karachi.
Citing the statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations , Dawn reported that Bajwa on Tuesday has directed the Karachi Corps Commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”.
The statement came minutes after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asked General Bajwa and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to probe into the circumstances that led to the incident.
“Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa called the Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party @BBhuttoZardari over the telephone to discuss the Karachi incident this evening,” the PPP said in an official tweet.
The police on Monday early morning had arrested Safdar Awan, the husband of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, from the hotel they were staying in Karachi, hours after the PML-N vice-president lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan and the PTI government at second power show of 11-party opposition alliance People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) which was attended by thousands of people.
“Police broke my room door at the hotel I was staying at in Karachi and arrested Capt. Safdar,” Maryam tweeted early Monday. Condemning the arrest, the PPP leader said that the manner of arrest of Safdar was “wrong” and could scar the Army’s “institutional integrity”.”When they (police) refused to do that, Rangers kidnapped [the IGP],” Zubair said.
Maryam was also quoted as saying that the Sindh police chief was forcibly “taken to the sector commander’s office and asked to sign on the arrest orders”.He further said that several top Sindh Police officers were “resigning or going on leave” as the incident has become a “question of their honour”.
Meanwhile, Maryam tweeted, “It’s heartening to see civilians breaking shackles of fear, standing up for supremacy of constitution & reclaiming their long lost rights. The conspiracy & conspirators stand badly exposed. Thank you @BBhuttoZardari for your support & clear stance. Pakistan has changed.”
