What Really Led To Captain (R) Safdar’s Arrest?
People turned furious and doled out criticism on social media against Safdar's act
WEB DESK: In a dramatic turn of events, the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (R) Safdar was arrested from his hotel room in Karachi on Monday morning.
A First Information Report (FIR) had been registered against him and 200 others for violating the sanctity of Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum on Sunday.
The news surfaced early morning when the party leader and his wife, Maryam Nawaz, tweeted that his husband has been arrested by the police. She claimed that the police broke into her hotel room and took away his husband.
What triggered the move?
The immense power of social media cannot be ruled out in the digital realm. It had been witnessed intermittently in the past how the government reacted to criticism and took actions after incidents and issues went viral on social media.
The same was repeated on Monday. PML-N leaders arrived in Karachi on Sunday to participate in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) public gathering at Jinnah Ground.
They initially headed to Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum to offer prayers at his grave. However, things flipped against the opposition party as Capt (R ) Safdar started chanting party and other slogans inside the mausoleum.
Legally, political sloganeering or any kind of political activities are prohibited in the premises of the mausoleum of the country’s founder.
Capt (R) Safdar tweeted the video of himself chanting slogans while other party leaders were spectating him.
The video spread like fire on the internet and sparked rage among Pakistanis across the country.
The act was condemned by people from almost every walk of life.
With immense pressure built, the police registered an FIR against Capt (R) Safdar and 200 unidentified people.
Maryam’s Cultural Alienation with Sindh
One instance that revealed Maryam Nawaz’s cultural alienation with Sindhi culture surfaced when the Sindhi-Balochi traditional Liwa dancers showed performance before her vehicle after arrival in the metropolitan city. However, the things turned sour when she labeled the performance as the dance of Red Indians. Originally, the traditional dance has its roots in Africa.
The invalid tagging indicated her cultural alienation with Sindh.
Is the Sindh government unaware or helpless?
As per Geo News, a PML-N Sindh official told that the Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah was immediately contacted by Maryam Nawaz Sharif after the police raid. However, the CM confessed to having ‘immense pressure’ for arresting Capt ( R ) Safdar for his act.
As per the latest details, the PML-N workers are trying to reach the hotel where Maryam is residing but the area has been cordoned off by the security forces.
