- SHOs threaten to resign if Daska DPO Shahzad Asif is transferred, RPO placates them
Station House Officers (SHOs) in Sialkot district took back their resignations that they had submitted earlier in the day on Thursday after negotiations with the Sialkot Regional Police Officer (RPO) successfully concluded.
In the aftermath of tragedy of Daska, the Punjab government had made Sialkot DPO Shahzad Asif an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Daska Wasim Dar had also been removed from his post after which SHOs of Sialkot district decided to resign en masse to protest the decision.
In context of the situation, the RPO Sialkot negotiated with SHOs of the district which concluded successfully with SHOs deciding to take back their resignations.
Police Service of Pakistan Punjab Chapter has decided to write a letter to Inspector General (IG) Punjab to submit their reservations on Daska incident. The letters states that opinions regarding the Daska incident were formed without listening to police’s version of the proceedings. The letter states that such events lower the moral of the police force.
After leaving his post, DPO Shahzad Asif had said that he belongs to a disciplined force and his duty is to protect property and lives of people. He also urged the SHOs to continue their services.
The lawyers alleged that station house officer (SHO) Shahzad Warraich on Monday opened fire on the protesting lawyers, killing two of them, including Daska Bar president Rana Khalid Abbas.
Daska lawyers remembered
Meanwhile, a large number of lawyers from Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujjar Khan and other areas on Thursday participated in the Quran Khawani and Fateha held at Daska Bar Associationfor deceased Rana Khalid Abbas (president Daska Bar Association) and Irfan Chohan.
The two were shot dead by accused police inspector Shehzad Warraich, in front of Daska City police station on May 25, 2015. Later, a memorial reference was also held at Daska Bar Association.
Representatives of the district bars associations of Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujjar Khan, Gujrat, Lahore and Gujranwala showed their unity and expressed their full confidence on each other against the government and the police. They pledged to take the case of the brutal killings to its logical end.
They also formed a special panel of senior lawyers to conduct future proceedings of the case. They demanded a speedy day-by-day trial of the case under the rule of the law by the government. They strongly condemned the brutal assassination of the two senior lawyers by the police inspector.
Later, the lawyers took out a peaceful rally in Daska. They marched peacefully on inter-city roads and chanted anti-police slogans.
President Lahore High Court Bar Association Pir Masud Chishti led this rally. They also held a demonstration in front of the main gate of the Daska City police station. They demanded that there be established a monument at the murder place in memory of the slain lawyers.
On the other hand, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), on Thursday, began the probe into the ghastly tragedy of Daska.
The JIT visited the spot in Daska city and gathered several evidences related to the incident. Petitioners of the case Rana Qayyum Shehzad (the cousin of the slain lawyer Rana Khalid Abbas) and General Secretary Daska Bar Association Awais Aslam Sandhu were also present on this occasion.