LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the Sahiwal killings case till Sept 13 after hearing the statement of the victim’s brother.
ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta conducted the proceedings wherein the accused Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials – Safdar Hussain, Ahsan Khan, Ramzan, Saif-Ullah, Husnain and Nasir Nawaz – were produced.
The court recorded statements of victim Zeeshan’s brother, Ehtisham, and four other witnesses during the proceedings. It is pertinent to mention here that only part of Ehtisham statement was recorded whereas the remaining statement would be recorded on the next hearing.
The court has recorded statements of 20 witnesses in the case so far.
Previously, victim Khalil’s brother, Jalil, and children, Umair and Muniba, also recorded their statements.
They refused to identify the accused. Jalil had submitted that he was not present on the scene, whereas the children stated that they could not identify the official who opened fire on their family.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered for the case to be transferred from Sahiwal to Lahore while allowing a petition, filed by Jalil.
Khalil, his wife Nabila, their teenage daughter Areeba, and friend Zeeshan Javed were killed after the CTD officials opened fire on their car in Sahiwal on January 19, 2019.
Jalil had lodged a case against six CTD officials at Yousafwal police station.