Safdar’s arrest could have been avoided, says state interior minister

ISLAMABAD: State Interior Minister Tallal Chaudhry said on Monday that the arrest of Captain (retd) Safdar on non-bailable warrants is a 'routine matter', however, it could have been avoided.

Speaking to journalists, he said that the government wanted to show the difference between those who follow the law and those who only speak about it.

"I think it was unnecessary by NAB to arrest a person who returned to appear before the accountability court, but as it was a legal matter we didn’t raise our objection," Chaudhry added.

"There are absconders who speak on the rule of law but never appear before courts and there is also one who made excuses and ran away from the courts," he said.

Chaudhry said that there are people who are very worried about the return of Maryam Nawaz.

"We have said it before and we are telling them today as well, we will keep giving such surprises," the state minister said. "Even after having serious reservations over the [Panama case] JIT and accountability process, we are appearing before the court."

Separately, speaking to Geo News, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's sons Hasan and Hussain Nawaz are expatriates, and they reserve the option to exercise their rights given to them by the constitution.

"Hasan and Hussain will exercise the rights given by the constitution to expatriates. They should not be dealt differently than the rest of Pakistanis," she said.