Karachi incident vindicated Pak's 'state above state': Maryam

Maryam has said that the Karachi incident has vindicated Nawaz Sharif's state above state remark. She was referring to the incident that involved her husband Mohammad Safdar's arrest on Monday morning -- hours after the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) successful rally -- bringing the law enforcement agency and security establishment in Sindh in direct conflict.

Islamabad: The 'Karachi incident' has vindicated former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "state above state" remark, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz vice president, Maryam Nawaz said on Friday, according to the Dawn.

"What happened in Karachi has shown who is actually running the government... Imran Khan is not the government. He is simply a dummy occupying a seat and that dummy has been silent for three days," Maryam said on Friday as quoted by Dawn.

"The Karachi incident has made it clear that Nawaz Sharif's stance -- about 'state above the state' and Imran Khan being nothing more than a pawn -- is correct. Nawaz Sharif only said it, you [Imran] proved it [...] showed the nation what a state above the state is," she added.

With regard to the inquiry into the incident -- which both the army chief and Sindh government said would be carried out -- Maryam said that there was no need for an enquiry as everything was already known.

There is plenty of video footage," she said and added that the provincial government was well aware of what had happened. "If there is an inquiry, it should be transparent so that the nation knows everything and the report should be made public."

The PML-N vice president said that the government appeared to be scared and was "hiding in Bani Gala". "In a democratic set-up, a notice should be taken by the government or the judiciary, no one else. And neither should an appeal be made to others to take notice," she added, as quoted by Dawn.

Maryam again said that the police had violated her privacy when they barged into the room.

"They went against the law [...] without any concern that I was in the privacy of my room with my husband," she said and added, "You broke the lock of my door [...] you had Safdar's arrest warrant, not mine. This was illegal and you will have to answer for it."

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the overall situation in Pakistan is volatile and two parallel governments control the country. He said on Tuesday, "A situation of 'state above state' exists in the country which creates confusion and is not in the interest of the nation and public."

This comes after a recently held anti-government rally in Karachi where political parties under the banner of 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, Maryam Nawaz's husband Safdar Awan was arrested from his hotel room. Safdar has now been released on bail.

Almost all police officers in Sindh Police applied for leave in protest against the humiliation meted out to the Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mehr, during the PML-N leader Safdar Awan's arrest saga, The News International reported.

PML-N leader and spokesman for Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz's and former Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair said that the IGP Sindh was 'kidnapped' by Rangers who forced him to file an FIR for Safdar's arrest.

ANI