SAHIWAL: A family member of one of the victims of the Sahiwal shooting on Wednesday refused to participate in an identification parade organised by the joint investigation team probing the incident.
Jalil, the brother of shooting victim Khalil, and his son Umair were summoned to Sahiwal by the JIT in addition to other witnesses mentioned in the first information report.
They were called to help the JIT identify the suspects in an identification parade that was supposed to be held at 10 am on Wednesday. However, Jalil and other witnesses refused to participate and questioned the JIT.
“We do not trust this JIT at all. The JIT has only worked to damage our case. Why must we go through the identification process again? These people know well who the killers are but they just don’t want to act against them,” Jalil said.
Four people, including three members of a family, were killed in an alleged encounter in Sahiwal on January 19. CTD personnel said they had killed a local commander of Islamic State or Daesh and three others in the operation. However, eyewitnesses and three children, whose parents were killed, disputed the claim.
On Tuesday, family members of the victims appeared before Senate Standing Committee on Interior over the matter. They demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the killing and refer the case to military courts. They have also said that they are dissatisfied with the joint investigation team (JIT) investigating the incident.
“We are not satisfied with the JIT’s investigation,” the mother of Zeeshan, one of the victims, told the committee.
“The police that are investigating [the incident] are the ones who committed the killings,” she added, while requesting the prime minister to provide justice. “All we want is justice.”
Meanwhile, the standing committee on Tuesday demanded the government to form a judicial commission to probe the incident and directed interior secretary to investigate why ministers changed their statements.
The Khalil family’s lawyer Shehbaz Bukhari alleged that other members of Khalil’s family, including his brother Jalil, were receiving death threats. He alleged that officers of the CTD were trying to protect their colleagues.
“CCPO Lahore has been informed of the threats and family members have also told the JIT about life threats,” Bukhari told reporters.
