COAS Bajwa orders probe into ‘Karachi incident’: ISPR

(Karachi) In wake of Capt Safdar's arrest episode in Karachi on October 19, Inspector General of Police Sindh Mushtaq Meher and other top police officials proceeded on leave, media has reported.

As per details, the Sindh police chief and other officials including AIG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon, and DIGs Javed Akbar Riaz and Omar Shahid Hamid have also applied for leave.

Additional IG also proceeds on leave. https://t.co/Tjq7jmktGp

— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) October 20, 2020

They maintained that in the recent episode of registration of FIR against Capt (r) Safdar in which police high command has not only been mishandled and ridiculed, but all ranks of Sindh police have been demoralized and shocked.

The police officials said that in order to come out of this shock and settle down, they need to go on leave.

On October 19, Sindh Police nabbed Capt (R) Safdar from a hotel in Karachi. The arrest was reported to be in a case registered against him for chanting political slogans in the vicinity of the Mazar-e-Quaid.

The police registered a case against PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, Capt (R) Safdar, and 200 others at the Brigade Police Station in Karachi for alleged desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid.

In the audio clip circulating on Twitter, Zubair purportedly said that Chief Minister Murad Shah confirmed to him that "they tried to put pressure on the Sindh Police first to arrest. When they refused to do that, Rangers kidnapped [the IGP]".

PML-N vice president Maryam had also alleged that the Sindh inspector general of police was forcibly "taken to the sector commander's office and asked to sign on the arrest orders".

She claimed that when the IGP showed reluctance, he was told that the arrest would be carried out by the Rangers. "After his signatures were forcibly taken on the arrest orders, he was told police would carry out the arrest."

The allegation was denied by Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi as "nonsense narrative".

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, in a recent statement added that "it is on the lips of every police officer from SHO to SP and from SP to DIGs that who were the people who surrounded our IG's home at 2 in the morning? Who were the two people who went to IG's home and where they took the IG at 4 in the morning?" - adding fire to the rumours that the IG of the Sindh Police was kidnapped under mysterious circumstances.

Upon confirming the IG's alleged kidnapping, Bilawal added that "I demand General Faiz DG ISI, General Bajwa who's the chief of army staff that investigate your institution. How are they doing their work in this province?"

It has been reported that the Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has taken notice of these allegations.