'Civil war' like situation in Pakistan after rumours of army kidnapping Sindh police chief

After rumours of the Sindh police chief being kidnapped, clashes broke out between police personnel and the army in Karachi. According to local media reports 10 policemen were killed.

The police chief was kidnapped allegedly to put pressure on the police to arrest Safdar Awan, the son-in-law of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered an enquiry into the incident.

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Karachi Corps Commander was directed by Army Chief Bajwa to ‘immediately inquire into the circumstances.’ This was done to determine the facts and to file a report as soon as possible.

The Pakistan army issued the statement only after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari demanded that probe should be launched to find out the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Safdar, who is the husband of Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz.

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Safdar and Maryam, who is also PML-N Vice President, were in Karachi few days to participate in a rally of the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). It is then, when Safdar was arrested from their hotel room for allegedly disrespecting the mausoleum of the country’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Later he was released on bail.

The Karachi police broke open the door of the hotel room and arrested Captain Safdar, Maryam said. During the rally, Maryam also slammed PM Imran Khan and accused him of tarnishing the image of Pakistan army to hide the failures of his government.