Sindh govt forms committee to probe Safdar's arrest

(Karachi) Sindh government has formed a five-member committee to probe the arrest of PML-N founder Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law Safdar Awan in Karachi, media has reported.

As per details, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab and two other ministers are part of the committee.

The committee has been tasked to complete the investigation on the matter and submit a report to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The report will also be presented in the Sindh Assembly.

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.

Later, in wake of Capt Safdar's arrest episode, Inspector General of Police Sindh Mushtaq Meher and other top police officials proceeded on leave. The opposition parties had accused intelligence agencies of abducting the provincial police chief and forced him to sign arrest orders of Safdar.

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

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.

However, the police officials deferred the leave after Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa took notice of the matter and ordered investigation.