In a damning revelation, a private news channel has claimed that the one-judge judicial commission comprising Justice Baqir Ali Najfi of the Lahore High Court has held the Punjab government “directly responsible” for the bloodbath at Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town on June 17.
According to the JC’s report revealed by Dunya News, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had not ordered the police to “disengage” from the clashes with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) supporters, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 people and injuries to over 80 others. The report has not been made public by the government as yet.
According to the report quoted by the news channel, Justice Najfi noted that neither former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah nor former principal secretary to the chief minister Dr Tauqeer Shah had mentioned in their affidavits to the commission that they had been directed by the chief minister to “disengage” the police.
The report said that Justice Najfi also noted that Shahbaz Sharif had used the word “disengagement” in his affidavit on an “afterthought”. He also noted that while addressing a press conference on the evening of June 17, Shahbaz Sharif had not mentioned that he had ordered the police to retreat, which was quite odd given the sensitivity of the situation, states the report.
Justice Najfi also noted that the PAT workers had not fired a single bullet on the police and just pelted stones when attempts were being made to remove the barriers outside Minhaj Secretariat, which were completely legal thus the Punjab government’s action was “illegal”.
The judge concluded that the CM had given no such order to the police and therefore the entire responsibility of the massacre rested on the shoulders of the Punjab government and police.
Commenting on the JC report, PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said the judge has vindicated the Minhaj stance that the Punjab government had carried out a well thought-out bloodbath on PAT workers, and Shahbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used the police to target innocent political workers.