— Additional secretary says cabinet’s approval for formation of JIT has been granted
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the federal and Sindh governments to identify those responsible for making threatening calls to the family of late Parveen Rehman and Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) Director Anwar Arshad.
The directive was made as a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Azmat Saeed resumed hearing of a case concerning the murder of Rehman.
Rehman was shot dead on March 13, 2013.
Parveen Rehman’s sister apprised the court that the family was receiving threatening phone calls from individuals who have not yet been identified.
Justice Azmat Saeed observed that while the calls are made from outside the country, a Pakistani national may be behind the calls.
The additional secretary informed the top court that cabinet’s approval for the constitution of a joint investigation team (JIT) has been granted and an official notification in this regard will soon be issued.
Hearing over the matter was then adjourned for two weeks.
On March 13, 2013, Rehman was commuting to her office on her car when men on motorbikes approached her and opened fire. She was immediately taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital but succumbed to her injuries.
Five men – Abdul Raheem Swati, his son Mohammad Imran Swati, Amjad Hussain Khan, Ayaz Shamzai alias Swati, and Ahmed Khan alias Ahmed Ali alias Pappu Kashmiri were charged for the murder.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the provincial capital earlier this month rejected Rehmans’ sister’s request to summon members of the three JITs formed to investigate the case.
Her legal representative argued that since members of the JIT had questoned the accused, they could be summoned to testify before the court.
However, the ATC judge rejected the request, observing that the plea was filed at a later stage of the case with the purpose of prolonging it without justification.
