KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sindh Police chief has deferred his leave and asked his officers to set aside their leave applications for ten days “in the larger national interest” after Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of former premier Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law, an issue that brought the paramilitary forces and police in direct conflict in the country’s largest city.
In a series of tweets, Sindh Police said on Tuesday that the “unfortunate incident” that occurred on the night of 18/19 October caused “great heartache and resentment” within its ranks, referring to the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Sharif’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar.
Opposition parties have alleged that the Sindh police chief was reportedly forcibly taken away by paramilitary Frontier Corps from his home in Karachi in the wee hours of Monday and pressurised to order for the arrest of Safdar.
“As a result, IG Sindh decided to proceed on leave and subsequently all ranks decided that they would also apply for leave to protest the humiliation meted out to Sindh police. This was a spontaneous and heartfelt reaction and made on an individual rather than a collective basis, because every single member of the department felt an acute sense of disrespect,” it said. The Sindh Police thanked Gen Bajwa for “realising the sense of hurt that prevailed within a uniformed force, and for promptly ordering an inquiry into the matter”.
“IG Sindh has decided to defer his own leave and ordered his officers to set aside their leave applications for ten days in the larger national interest, pending the conclusion of the inquiry,” it said.AGENCIES