Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s army chief ordered an investigation into allegations that paramilitary forces forcibly removed a provincial police chief from his home and pressured him to arrest the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The investigation comes as the provincial police chief, Mushtaq Mehar, and more than 50 high-ranking officers in the southern province of Sindh, where the arrest was made, requested to go on leave on Tuesday, referring to the incident in letters from virtually identical license application.
“[The army chief] has ordered Commander Karachi Corps to immediately investigate the circumstances to determine the facts and report as soon as possible, ”read a brief military statement issued Tuesday night.
Muhammad Safdar outside a Karachi court after being released on bail on Monday. [Shahzaib Akber/EPA]
On Wednesday, the provincial police department said the decision by senior officials to go on leave had been “deferred” for 10 days, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Muhammad Safdar, the husband of Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former Prime Minister Sharif on three occasions, was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning after police broke into his hotel room to detain him. He was released on bail hours later.
Safdar was accused of participating in political activities at the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. On Sunday, he led a crowd of dozens who raised slogans and chants against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan during a visit to the mausoleum.
That visit came before a major anti-government rally by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which is part of Sharif’s Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) party.
The rally drew tens of thousands of protesters in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, on Sunday.
Supporters of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) wave flags during an anti-government protest in Karachi [File: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
Following the protest, reports emerged that Provincial Police Chief Mehar was forcibly removed from his home and ordered to detain Safdar.
Allegations of ‘mistreatment’ by a police officer
A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the incident to Al Jazeera, saying that soldiers from the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary were sent to the police chief’s home after he initially refused to arrest the political.
“At 4 a.m. [on Monday], when [the intelligence agencies] they got quite frustrated that they wouldn’t be able to [arrest Safdar], with about nine Rangers paramilitary vehicles entered the inspector general’s house to force him to attend a meeting with the [intelligence services] commander of the sector, to insist that he must authorize [the arrest]”Said the official.
“There was no mistreatment that I know of, but it is disrespectful, to say the least, to send the Rangers home. [and] and then force and coerce him. “
Launched last month, the PDM has so far held two large anti-government demonstrations, first in the central city of Gujranwala on Friday and then in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, on Sunday. More protests are planned for the next few weeks.
The alliance, a group of 11 major opposition political parties, has been characterized by its forceful rhetoric regarding the alleged political role of the country’s powerful military, which has directly ruled Pakistan for about half of its 73-year history.
In an unprecedented speech at the Gujranwala rally, PML-N chief Sharif, who was removed by the Supreme Court in 2017 and later imprisoned on corruption charges, appointed the army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as “responsible” for the overthrow of his government. .
“General Qamar Javed Bajwa, you packed up our government, which was working well, and put the nation and the country on the altar of your wishes,” he said, in comments that were censored on all Pakistani television channels by order of the government. .
Sharif also accused Bajwa of pressuring the judiciary and the country’s anti-corruption watchdog to pursue cases against opposition leaders and of installing Khan in the controversial 2018 elections.
Khan and the military have routinely denied any allegations of manipulation in 2018 polls, and the prime minister has often said that he and the military are “on the same page.”
Under Khan, the military has taken an open role in governance, with senior officials on duty and retirees appointed to key positions in the security, health, telecommunications and other sectors.
A recently retired lieutenant general, Asim Saleem Bajwa, serves as the head of the authority managing the $ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
The government has dismissed the opposition’s protest movement as an attempt to deflect the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, which has seen dozens of prominent politicians jailed while investigations into corruption allegations against them continue.
In addition to Sharif, former president and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Asif Ali Zardari, Sharif’s daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Prime Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif , and others face corruption investigations.
Sharif was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison by an anti-corruption court in July 2018, days before the elections. He is currently out on medical bail and has addressed PDM rallies via video link from the UK. Appeals continue in your case.
On Wednesday, government ministers dismissed the decision to go on leave by the Sindh provincial police leadership as being driven by the opposition PPP, which holds power in Sindh and is reported to by the police.
“There is no doubt that the Sindh police officers withdrew at the request of [the PPP]”Said Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry. “Attempts and conspiracies to demote the institutions will have to be thwarted.”
Asad Hashim is the digital correspondent for Al Jazeera in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.
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