Often referred as Captain Safdar by his loyalists and in the media due to his past military career, because of his critical stance on secularism, his vocal support of Mumtaz Qadri and his repeated statements targeting the Ahmadiyya movement, he's generally considered to be a far-right politician.
[3][4] Safdar belongs to a traditionally Sufi family and his father Muhammad Ishaq, who passed away in 2014, was a writer, being a poet and an essayist specialized in Islamic affairs.
[7][8] After retiring from the Pakistan Army as captain[9] he joined the civil services and was posted as Lahore Model Town assistant commissioner.
[3] He was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) from Constituency NA-52 (Rawalpindi-III) in the by-election held in June 2008.
"[27] In 2012, he publicly supported Islamic fundamentalist Mumtaz Qadri[28][29] who assassinated former Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer for speaking against the blasphemy law.
[30] He has often voiced his concerns against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan and called for a ban on hiring Ahmadis in the armed forces and other important institutions of the country.