A civil war is brewing in Pakistan after deadly clashes broke out between Sindh police and Pakistani army over the illegal detention of Sindh police chief. As per reports, Sindh province’s top cop Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar was kept hostage for four hours at the office of the sector commander of the Pakistan Rangers. He was reportedly forced to register a case against PML-N leader Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar. Safdar is former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam’s husband.
On October 19, Maryam took to Twitter to inform that her husband was arrested by police.
https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/1318010542771109888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw She said she was sleeping in the hotel room when the police barged in and arrested her husband. https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/1318050820269756416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw However, Pakistan’s Minister and PTI leader Ali Haider Zaidi had refuted the claim and appreciated ‘quick action’ against the ‘hooligans’ who ‘disrespected’ the mausoleum of Jinnah. https://twitter.com/AliHZaidiPTI/status/1318045791953498118?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwReportedly, Safdar and his wife, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had visited the Karachi to attend a rally of the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against Pakistan government and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
https://twitter.com/Ghummans/status/1317798244118896642?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAt the protest, Safdar had allegedly chanted slogans such as, “Give respect to the vote!”. Reportedly, these slogans are viewed in Pakistan as a strong criticism against Pakistan’s military, which has often ruled Pakistan directly or indirectly for the last seven decades. An FIR was registered against Safdar, Maryam and 200 others for ‘violating the sanctity’ of the grave.
Soon after the arrest, former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair – who is also the spokesperson of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz claimed that Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar was coerced into arresting Safdar. He said that the Rangers kidnapped Mahar at 4 AM and took him to military office where he was forced to issue arrest orders for Safdar.
https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1318609824540741634?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAccording to the reports, Pakistan Army Rangers was put on high alert in the province of Sindh on Tuesday after Sindh Police and Pakistan Army exchanged fire over the detention of Sindh cop Mahar.
A report by Pakistan-based media, The International Herald stated that the “civil war” between Sindh Police and Pakistan Army that broke out in Karachi on Tuesday, resulted in the death of at least 10 Karachi police officers.
https://twitter.com/TheIntlHerald/status/1318621341730308097?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHowever, media reports had suggested contrarily claiming that five officers of Pakistan Army were killed during the clashes. Interestingly, Pakistan media has not been putting the number of the deceased in the clashes.
Sindh police goes on leave ‘en masse’, later backtracks
Following the attacks on Sindh police and the ‘humiliation’ meted out to them by the Pakistan Army, senior Sindh Police officers have decided to go on leave, with the senior officers of the Sindh Police saying that the episode had left police “shocked and demoralised”.
A leave application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, which has gone viral on social media, said that he wishes to proceed on leave because the police high command has been “ridiculed and mishandled”, which has now to demoralisation within the ranks of Sindh Police.
In a series of tweets, Sindh provincial police also added that the “unfortunate incident” had “caused great heartache and resentment within all ranks of Sindh Police”. Police thanked the army chief for ordering an investigation into the incident.
https://twitter.com/sindhpolicedmc/status/1318616679627227146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/sindhpolicedmc/status/1318617750303105031?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAccording to a Geo News report, at least 12-13 other police officers have submitted similar leave requests. The officers have reportedly stated that if their request for leave is not accepted, they will stop showing up to their postings.
However, hours later, Sindh Inspector-General Police Mushtaq Mahar took an u-turn from his earlier decision and said that he has deferred his own leave. He also ordered police officers to set aside their leave applications for at least ten days in the “larger national interest” till the conclusion of Captain (retd) Safdar’s arrest inquiry.
Pakistan Army chief orders immediate inquiry into ‘Karachi incident’
Following the illegal detention of Sindh police chief and the subsequent clashes on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa took notice of the violent incident and reportedly ordered an immediate inquiry into the “Karachi incident”.
According to ISPR, the Pakistan Army Chief has directed the Karachi Corps Commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”.
The probe by Pakistan Army came after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had called on General Bajwa and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of PML-N leader retired Capt Mohammad Safdar in Karachi.