ISI, Rangers Acted “Over Zealously” in Capt Safdar Case: ISPR

Pak Army has completed the investigation into the concerns of Inspector General of Police Sindh over the arrest of Capt (retd) Safdar and removed the concerned officers of Sindh Rangers and ISI from their responsibilities.

According to the ISPR press release, the Court of Inquiry has established that on night 18 / 19 Oct officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fall out of desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid.

They were under increasing public pressure to ensure prompt action as per the law.

Assessing the response of police authorities against this developing yet volatile situation to be slow and wanting, in a charged environment, the concerned ISI / Rangers officers decided to act, rather over zealously.

They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to misunderstanding between the two state institutions.

Based on the recommendations of the Court of Inquiry, it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at GHQ.

The inquiry had been ordered by the COAS after the Insepctor General Police Sindh and several senior officers had sought extended leave from duty saying they had been left demoralised due to the circumstances surrounding the October 19 incident.

Captain Safdar, the husband of PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz was arrested in the early morning on October 19 for allegedly violating the sanctity of Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum and threatening harm to the petitioner who filed the case.

However, he was granted bail after 12 hours. He came to attend the Pakistan Democratic Movement rally with his wife Maryam Nawaz.

Sindh government representatives had publicly distanced themselves from the arrest and condemned the incident.

Meanwhile, Sindh Police’s Media Cell initially tweeted, then deleted, then tweeted again a statement and defended Captain Safdar’s arrest, saying it was done “according to the law”.

Later, several high ranking officers of the Sindh Police requested to proceed on leave.

However, chief of Army Staff personally took note of the situation, ordered an inquiry into the matter and promised action once it was completed.

A day later, Inspector General of Police Sindh Mushtaq Mahar deferred his own leave and ordered Senior police officers to set aside their leave applications for 10 days.