ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday, while hearing a petition filed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) against the Singh government, said that it will supervise the progress of the newly-constituted Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in the Perveen Rehman murder case investigations.
HRCP had moved the SC against Singh government and others for failing to catch the culprit behind the murder of Rehman, the director of Orangi Pilot Project.
The petition states that there were “material mistakes made by the initial investigating officer as well as the concerned SHO which adversely affected the merits of the investigation.”
Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh heading the three-judge bench heard the petition and observed,“It is an embarrassment for the Sindh government as well as the court that the real culprits could not be identified”.
Addressing the federal and provincial law officers present at the hearing, he said: “We will keep our eyes on the JIT.”
The Sindh government’s lawyer informed the court that a new joint investigation team (JIT) had been formed to probe the case, adding that authorities have also apprehended several suspects in the case.
He added that action has been taken against two police officers who showed misconduct during the investigation of the case. While the JIT had already held one meeting, it sought time to complete the investigation.
However, Aqeela, sister of Rehman, who also appeared before the bench, requested the top court to outline a specific time to the JIT to complete its probe.
The top court directed JIT to proceed in a fair manner and identify real culprits who confused the case. The hearing was then adjourned till April 21.
Earlier on February 24, Sindh government approved the formation of a new joint investigation team (JIT) on Saturday to probe the murder of activist Parveen Rehman, who was gunned down in 2013.
According to the notification issued by the Sindh government, officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Rangers and intelligence agencies will be part of the eight-member team. The team will complete its investigation, which will also include again questioning arrested suspects, and submit its report in 15 days.
Rehman, who was the director of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), was gunned down by four men in a targeted attack near the Banaras fly-over in Orangi Town in March 2013. She was a vocal activist working against land and water mafia in the city.
The new JIT was formed at the request of Sindh Inspector-General of Police AD Khowaja.
Police in October last year arrested Amjad Hussain, prime accused in the case. Authorities also managed to nab other suspects, including Imran Swati and Rahim Swati.