As written by me:
Sordid happenings
It was perhaps inevitable that as the graph of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM’s) campaign of protest against the government heated up, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would retaliate in some manner or the other. The PM had himself been issuing ‘blood curdling’ threats at the opposition since the Gujranwala rally on October 16, 2020 addressed by Nawaz Sharif from London. If that show of force rattled the government, the even bigger one in Karachi on October 18, 2020 seems to have raised the ante even higher. One manifestation of this was the entirely unnecessary, sordid manner in which Maryam Nawaz’s husband, Captain (retd) Safdar was arrested from their hotel room after the police broke in in the early hours of October 19, 2020. Officially, the arrest related to the incident inside the Mazar of the Quaid-e-Azam when Maryam, Safdar and their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) followers paid it a visit. Even if the argument of the federal government that the arrest was lawful and the charge of violating the sanctity of the Mazar was valid, what was the need to resort to the kind of violent break-in that transpired? Captain (retd) Safdar has been arrested before, quite peacefully since the PML-N (and now the PDM) are not inclined to resist arrest if it comes to that. Even more disturbing is the reportage that speaks of the Sindh government being kept out of the loop and the alleged kidnapping of the IG police and forcing him to sign the arrest order by a Rangers contingent. If true, all the fingers of suspicion pointing at the federal government as being behind this foolish move would appear to be confirmed since the Rangers are a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Interior. If the ‘forced’ arrest through the Sindh police was intended to drive a wedge between the PML-N and the host Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), it had the opposite effect, especially as the Chief Minister Sindh downwards denied any knowledge of these goings on. The bypassing of the chief executive of the province, allegedly through a federal force, is one more unprecedented foolishness of the PTI government. Consider. The charge was brought by a PTI person who is reportedly an absconder in a terrorism case. Captain (retd) Safdar got bail the same day, which reportedly has been extended by an anti-terrorism court till October 23, 2020. PPP’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari telephoned Maryam Nawaz to clarify that the Sindh government had nothing to do with this effort. As these lines were being written, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah was expected to hold a press conference in which these murky goings on would perhaps have some light shone on them.
The arrest in this manner of Captain (retd) Safdar just hours after the PDM rally in Bagh-i-Jinnah does not appear to be a coincidence. In fact it smacks of a double strike: pressure on and harassment of Maryam Nawaz, and attempted creation of misunderstandings between the two PDM allies, the PML-N and the PPP. Neither seems to have succeeded, considering Maryam Nawaz’s defiant tone after the arrest, the bail granted to Safdar, and the coming together of the PML-N, PPP and Maulana Fazlur Rehman in seeing this as a crude and despicable action by the PTI federal government. If anything, the reaction to these events has done more damage to the PTI government than anyone else. One, the FIR in question was filed by a dubious PTI supporter. Two, even if some transgression at the Quaid’s Mazar took place, there seems no earthly reason to go so far as to indulge in the alleged kidnapping of the IG police and forcibly obtaining his signature on the arrest warrant. The reported involvement and central role of the Rangers puts the force and its Islamabad bosses in a very poor light. All this points to signs that the PTI government is panicking at the momentum the PDM seems to be acquiring after the Gujranwala and Karachi rallies. The Sindh government has announced an inquiry into the affair, which may prove even more embarrassing for the PTI government. That government has done its case no good, arguably having demolished its own narrative by resort to such obnoxious moves.
As published by the paper (a consequence of the Editor falling ill):
Sordid happenings
First things first. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will be holding the third rally of its ongoing anti-government campaign at Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, today. It was perhaps inevitable that as the graph of the PDM’s campaign of protest against the government heated up, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would retaliate in some manner or the other. The PM had himself been issuing ‘blood curdling’ threats at the opposition since the Gujranwala rally on October 16, 2020 addressed by Nawaz Sharif from London. If that show of force rattled the government, the even bigger one in Karachi on October 18, 2020 seems to have raised the ante even higher. The controversy surrounding the arrest of Maryam Nawaz’s husband retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in his hotel room has certainly stepped up pressure on a seemingly beleaguered PTI government. The arrest in this manner of Captain (retd) Safdar just hours after the PDM rally in Bagh-i-Jinnah does not appear to be a coincidence. In fact it smacks of a double strike: pressure on and harassment of Maryam Nawaz, and attempted creation of misunderstandings between the two PDM allies, the PML-N and the PPP. Neither seems to have succeeded, considering Maryam Nawaz’s defiant tone after the arrest, the bail granted to Safdar, and the coming together of the PML-N, PPP and Maulana Fazlur Rehman in seeing this as a crude and despicable action by the PTI federal government. If anything, the reaction to these events has done more damage to the PTI government than anyone else.
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