Pakistan political crisis deepens as Sindh police revolts against Army

Police say they were left 'demoralised, shocked' after chief was kidnapped

A high-profile kidnapping of a police chief in Pakistan — allegedly by official paramilitary troops — has signalled deepening of the political turmoil in a country bracing for further Opposition protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Imran Khan.
 

The paramilitary troops, known as the rangers, are accused of raiding the house of Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar, the inspector general of police in southern Sindh province. They kidnapped him and forced him to sign an order to arrest an Opposition leader, Safdar Awan, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, a spokesman for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari —whose Opposition party rules the state — said on Dunya TV on Tuesday.
 

 Pakistan's Sindh Police chief has, for now, deferred his leave and asked his officers to set aside their leave applications for ten days “in the larger national interest”.
 

According to ANI, 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, had tendered leave applications, as a protest against the “resentment and heartache caused to all ranks of the force.” According to the Agency, the Additional Inspector General of Police in Sindh, Yaqoob Minhas, wrote in a letter that during submission of the FIR, “the high command of the Sindh Police was ridiculed and mishandled, which has left the entire provincial police force demoralised and shocked.”
 

While Khan’s pro-military government has not yet addressed the issue, army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered an inquiry. A spokesman for the prime minister was not immediately available and the office of rangers in Karachi decline to comment.
 

The unprecedented incident, where almost all top ranking police officers of the province sought leave for being “ridiculed,” provides a window into the turmoil in Pakistan which is the worst since Khan came into power about two years ago.
 

An alliance of 11 top Opposition parties is already holding a series of nationwide rallies seeking Khan’s ouster over food shortages and inflation as well as demanding that the military stop meddling in politics.
 

The army, which has directly ruled Pakistan for about half of its existence since 1947, has historically played a key role in foreign and national security policy. Lately, it has expanded its role during the current government’s tenure.
 

Explosion in Sindh kills 5

A powerful explosion ripped through a four-storey building in Pakistan's Sindh province, killing at least five people and injuring 20 others, police said. At least two floors of the building near Karachi were severely damaged. Authorities fear that the toll may rise. PTI