On October 18 - the day of the rally organized by the PPP in Karachi - Safdar along with party workers and Maryam Nawaz visited the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi, where he reportedly reached near the tomb of this founder of Pakistan and shouted slogans. The next day he was arrested by the police from his hotel room for violating the sanctity of Jinnah's mausoleum and threatening to murder some persons. Safdar was later released on bail.
Opposition’s stance
Opposition parties of Pakistan have opposed this incident but also expressed concern over it. The leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party in Sindh, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has urged Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa and ISI Chief General Faiz Hameed to investigate the entire matter. Bilawal said that the way Safdar was arrested as "shameful". He said, "I am ashamed for what has happened in my province [and] unable to show my face."
The arrest was strongly criticized by all opposition parties in Pakistan and some leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), including Maryam Nawaz, claimed in a press after Safdar's arrest that the move instigated by the federal government and its agencies, attempt to jeopardize the recent efforts for unity between the opposition. Significantly, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has come into existence due to efforts to build unity in opposition against the government led by Imran Khan under the military umbrella. The Pakistan Democratic Movement is a coalition of political parties in Pakistan formed in September 2020. It headed by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, leader of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal), and the two main opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan People's Party, which have previously led Pakistani politics and government in the alliance.
Police dissatisfaction
The Pakistan Rangers, where there is a paramilitary force responsible for the security of the eastern border of Pakistan adjacent to India, which belongs to the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan, but in practice, it is an important part of the Pakistan Army. It has played a role in many terrorist attacks, and infiltration attempts to trespassing in India. Now Rangers name is once again in discussions after involvement in this incident. But this time the victim is the police of Sindh itself. This type of treatment with law enforcement agencies is not new, but this time the army also has to face the opposition of the police.
Following the arrest of Captain Safdar on Monday, the incident led to the ill-treatment of top police officers where Mushtaq Mehar, IGP of Sindh along with two additional inspector generals and seven police superintendents, applied for leave as a protest.
The police of Sindh province have tweeted their protest on this whole incident and said that the incidents which occurred on the intervening night of October 18 and 19 have weakened the morale of the police of the province. In more than one of these applications, it was said that in the recent case of registering an FIR against Captain (R) Safdar in which the police high command was not only ill-treated but it was ridiculed, it made all the personnel of Sindh police Has caused mental trauma and weakened their morale.
Military’s daub
Due to the rising voices of protest, Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has now ordered an immediate investigation into the "Karachi incident". According to the statement released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, the commander of the Karachi Corps has been instructed to "investigate the circumstances and facts quickly and investigate to report back as soon as possible". While the ISPR did not think it appropriate to even tell which investigation is mentioned in this statement.
This entire incident has once again revealed who enjoyed the real power in Pakistan. Imran Khan has been a target of opposition for his 'selection not election' for the post of Prime Minister, who believed to be a pawn of 'Deep State'. But in Pakistan, the government and opposition parties are allowed to go up to a limit against the army, which the army itself gives allowed at their convenience. And after the recent developments in the army, wires have started to be drawn, which can also be seen to change the tone. The PPP government has been caught in a strange situation after this incident and has distanced itself from this entire development. On the other hand, while speaking on behalf of the Pakistan Muslim League, Maryam Nawaz blamed Imran Khan for this incident, while she appeared to be avoiding speaking anything against the army. The end of this development is known to almost every Pakistani, but the important fact is that it has once again brought out the sordid game which is going on between the PTI government and army led by Imran Khan in Pakistan. At present, the government of Pakistan is not being run by the Ministry and the Assembly but by the General Headquarters at Rawalpindi. And because of all this, the important institutions of the civil governance systems are under severe threat.
The governance in Pakistan has always been under the control of the military and this military system has not only weakened the institutions under the civilian governments but also made efforts to completely dismantle them. The incident on Monday in Pakistan's Sindh province, a state ruled by the Pakistan People's Party, is a recent example when Captain Safdar Awan, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and son-in-law of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested in a dramatic manner. For this arrest, the Inspector General of Sindh Police was pressurized by the army and on their refusal, this same Inspector General was abducted by the Pakistan Rangers and the arrest order was forcibly taken.