Safdar’s arrest: Bilawal phones Maryam

KARACHI: The Sindh government has said that it will conduct a high-level inquiry to probe the incident of lodging of a criminal case and sudden arrest of the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar. While giving an official version of the provincial government of the incident, Sindh information minister said on Monday that an incident had taken place when the leaders of PML-N had visited the Mazar-e-Quaid the previous day. The incident should not have taken place, said the Sindh information minister. He said that the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had submitted separate applications to the police for registering a criminal case against the incident. The police had rejected the applications while terming them that they had no legal basis.

He said that later on, the Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Management Board (QAMB) also submitted a similar application to the police. The police had advised the QAMB to submit its application to the magistrate.

Meanwhile, said the information minister, a private person submitted an application to the police that Captain (retd) Safdar had threatened to kill him.

The police then lodged the FIR and started doing its investigation to probe the incident. He said that the arrest of Captain (retd) Safdar before concluding the investigation and that too after violating the sanctity of the four walls was highly condemnable. He said the Sindh government had taken stern cognizance of the incident of Safdar’s arrest. The Sindh government would conduct a high-level probe to investigate the incident.

He said that the entire incident had taken place at the behest of the federal government and the Sindh government had not been given any prior information at any level before all this action. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the arrest of Captain (retd) Safdar, spouse of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, adding that he was shocked to hear about the incident.

Talking to Maryam Nawaz over telephone, the PPP chairman expressed complete solidarity with her adding the manner in which the arrest was made is against the traditions of Sindh. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Sindh government was not informed about the arrest and he has asked the chief minister, Sindh, to investigate the incident fully and to take all measures to secure Capt Safdar’s release.