— PM says will review Punjab Police structure and begin reform process
–Khalil’s brother claims no contact yet by Punjab govt, family wants justice
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday “assured” the nation that “exemplary punishment” will be given to those found guilty in the Sahiwal fake encounter case, as the victims’ family said that they were not interested in financial compensation and only wanted justice for their loved ones.
“I assure the nation that when I return from Qatar not only will the guilty be given exemplary punishment but I will review the entire structure of Punjab police and start [the] process of reforming it,” he tweeted before departing for Doha, Qatar, on an official visit.
He also stated that the “grief and anger of the people of Pakistan is understandable and justified”.
The grief & anger of the ppl of Pak on Sahiwal incident is understandable & justified. I assure the nation that when I return from Qatar not only will the guilty be given exemplary punishment but I will review the entire structure of Punjab police & start process of reforming it.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 21, 2019
On Saturday, Punjab 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.’
Following this, PM Imran on Sunday had said that “swift action will be taken” after the joint investigation team (JIT) findings into Sahiwal incident while the opposition lambasted the federal government for turning Punjab into a “police state”.
PM Imran also expressed “shock” at the incident, adding that the children who lost their parents will be “fully looked after by the state”.
“Still shocked at seeing the traumatised children who saw their parents shot before their eyes. Any parent would be shocked as they would think of their own children in such a traumatic situation. These children will now be fully looked after by the state as its responsibility,” PM Imran tweeted on Sunday morning.
VICTIMS’ FAMILY REJECTS COMPENSATION:
On the other hand, the brother of one of the victims of the alleged “encounter” has rejected the Punjab government’s claim that the family has been contacted over the matter.
“The Punjab law minister has claimed that he contacted us, however, nobody has reached out to us as yet,” said Jalil, the brother of Khalil who was killed in the incident.
“It was announced that we will be given Rs20 million as compensation but we don’t want money. We want our loved ones back,” he added.
“How can someone be termed a terrorist without any investigation? We are not hopeful that we will get justice but want the truth to surface.”
BUZDAR ENHANCES JIT:
In a related development, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar ordered to add more members to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) established to investigate into the Sahiwal tragedy.
Additional Inspector General (IG) Establishment Ijaz Shah has been appointed as the JIT convener, whereas Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau members have also been included in the team.
In addition to that, the new members include Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Investigations Khalid Abubakr and Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Falak Sher.
The JIT team has been instructed to investigate and compile a report on the matter within three days, which should include statements from eyewitnesses and details of instances from the crime scene.
Investigators will also check CTD records during the probe.