Abbasi for Senate panel to probe Safdar’s arrest

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Secretary General Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Tuesday demanded that a special committee of the Senate be constituted to probe the circumstances in which PML-N Youth Wing chief Captain (R) Muhammad Safdar was arrested and the worst human rights were defied in Karachi in wee hours of Monday.

“The chief executive of the country, who is the prime minister, should request the Upper House of the Parliament to set up a probe committee for ascertaining facts and bring the truth in public.”

In a brief chat with The News, he said the Rangers in Karachi had been blamed for the obnoxious act and encroaching upon the provincial administration which was responsible to the federal government and worked under the prime minister and interior minister. “For the reason, Prime Minister must take responsibility of the deplorable incident.”

Shahid Abbasi reminded that the Senate was the House of the Federation and supposed to safeguard the interests of the federating units.

The case in question is a clear-cut matter of defiance of the provincial authority by the federal government and the Senate must be brought in it.

Abbasi was of view that the probe ordered by the Army Chief into the inacceptable incident was misplaced although Rangers were part of the Army, but they were answerable to the civil administration for commission and omissions when they were called in for assistance by the civil administration.

Abbasi maintained that the conduct of prime minister had established that he appeared to be helpless.

“The chief executive should take the responsibility of the incident where Sindh Police have been humiliated for no plausible reason. In the situation, the best course for Prime Minister Khan is to dissolve the National Assembly and seek fresh mandate so that a truly representative and assertive administration must come into being.

He did endorse the view that the Corps Commander Karachi couldn’t be delegated authority for probe if the Rangers had not been taking orders from the Corps Commander.

Since the Rangers are engaged under direct supervision of the prime minister and interior minister, the corps commander and for that matter Army Chief should haven’t been involved in the process of probe, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi added.