ISLAMABAD: Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Monday broke her silence on the Sahiwal ‘encounter’ case and asserted that it was government’s duty to end “decades of tolerance for killing through encounters”.
On Saturday, Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD officials killed four people, including a couple and their teenage daughter, and injured a teenage boy in a suspicious “encounter”, triggering a national outcry that prompted the government to take the security officials into custody and order an investigation into the incident.
The counter-terrorism officials claimed that the operation was conducted to capture an “Islamic State (IS) commander” on a tip-off by an intelligence agency.
Mazari took to Twitter to condemn the murders and wrote: “From Rao Anwar to the Sahiwal incident – as part of the govt it is our duty to end decades of tolerance for killings through ‘encounters’.”
“What was tolerated, even encouraged by previous governments must end now as we strengthen Rule of Law and accountability for all”, she added.
From Rao Anwar to the Sahiwal incident – as part of the govt it is our duty to end decades of tolerance for killings thru “encounters”. What was tolerated, even encouraged by prev govts/state must end now as we strengthen Rule of Law & accountability for all.
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) January 21, 2019
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to take “swift action” against the CTD after the joint investigation team (JIT) findings into Sahiwal incident while the opposition lambasted the federal government for turning Punjab into a “police state”.