Names of CTD personnel involved in Sahiwal encounter surface

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The names of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel involved in the notorious Sahiwal shootout have surfaced days after three members of a family killed and a suspected terrorist was killed.

Khalil, a grocer in Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, his wife Nabeela, their 13-year-old daughter, and their neighbour, Zeeshan, were on their way to a wedding in Burewala on Saturday when they were killed in firing on their car by CTD officials near the toll plaza on GT Road in the Qadirabad area.

The CTD team was reportedly led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Safdar Hussain, whereas Ahsan, Muhammad Ramzan, Saifullah and Hasnain Akbar were also a part of the team.

According to the initial investigation, the personnel shot at the vehicle from the front and both sides, resulting in the death of four people, including a minor.

The claim in CTD’s statement that the persons traveling in the car retaliated by opening fire was incorrect as “no evidence of firing from inside the car” could be obtained, reports claimed, adding that even the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was not called on by the CTD team after the shootout despite claims of recovering explosives from the custody of the deceased.

According to reports, the crime scene was cleared without taking evidence.

Neighbours of Zeeshan, the terror suspect, have maintained that was a nice person. He was willing to join the Dolphin Force soon, they reasoned.

His brother, Ehtisham, was already in the force, and Zeeshan had also given his Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) to his brother for the purpose.

However, reports quoting the CTD officials say that the encounter was carried out on the information passed by the informer.

The police had earlier registered a first information report (FIR), number 33/19, against 16 CTD officials involved in the killing. The CTD personnel were taken into custody following the directives issued by the Punjab chief minister.