Sindh Bar Council calls on Pakistan Chief Justice to take suo motu notice of Army interference after Safdar Awan arrest

Karachi [Pakistan], October 21 (ANI): The Sindh Bar Council passed a resolution on Wednesday urging the Pakistan Chief Justice to take suo motu notice of Army interference in affairs after the abduction of IG of Sindh Police and the subsequent arrest of Capt Safdar Awan.
"The Bar Council calls upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan, therefore, to urgently take a suo motu notice of this ongoing crisis and fix it for hearing and enquiry before a Full Court of the Supreme Court and to issue notice to the Vice Chairmen of all the Bar Councils, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and to Presidents of the provincial High Court Bar Associations (at the principal seats) to address the serious implications it poses for the rule of law and constitutionalism in Pakistan before it is too late," said the Council in its resolution.
In the resolution, the Council stated that it was shocked at the report that the IG of Sindh Police was abducted from his residence by rangers/agencies and forced to issue orders to arrest opposition leader Muhammad Safdar.
"Till now, this report has not been contradicted by the relevant authority and has been tacitly confirmed by the Sindh government. The leave applications tendered by dozens of senior police officers throughout Sindh citing demoralization of the force due to this brazen interference in policing functions are a sign of complete breakdown of the rule of law and an undeclared martial law," it said.
It also alleged that the judiciary of Pakistan has remained a silent spectator in the face of this creeping martial law and is widely being seen as a facilitator of elements who wish to carry out an extra-constitutional role.
"The Sindh Bar Council feels that unless this trend of military interference in civil and judicial administration is immediately reversed it will permanently damage the public reputation and trust not only in the government and the judiciary of Pakistan but also the beloved Armed Forces of Pakistan," said the Council.
Recently, political parties under the banner joint opposition alliance---Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-- protested against the 'puppet' government of Prime Minister Imran Khan and demanded his resignation. Thousands of people participated in the rally in Karachi.
Following the rally, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz's husband Safdar Awan was arrested from his hotel room.
PML-N leader and spokesman for Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz's and former Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair that the IGP Sindh, Mushtaq Mehr, was 'kidnapped' by Rangers who forced him to file an FIR for Safdar's arrest.
The development caused extreme bitterness among the police officers who retaliated by submitting leave of absence.
Almost the entire top brass of the police, including three Additional IGs, 25 DIGs, 30 SSPs and dozens of SPs, DSPs and SHOs across Sindh, tendered leave applications, as a protest against the "resentment and heartache caused to all ranks of the force" by the unfortunate incident of October 18 and 19.
The incident sent shockwaves in top Army brass with Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa himself stepped in and order an inquiry into the 'Karachi incident'. (ANI)