–LHC CJ directs police to record statements of people who witnessed the entire incident
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday indicated at forming a judicial commission to probe into the Sahiwal tragedy.
The LHC was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Syed Farhad Ali Shah on behalf of suspected terror facilitator Zeeshan Javed’s brother Ehtisham against the decision to not form a judicial commission to probe the Sahiwal incident.
The petition stated that “Zeeshan had been wrongly termed a terrorist. He was innocent and was not involved in any criminal activity”.
It further argued that “a judicial commission should be formed to probe the Sahiwal incident and a case should be registered against those responsible for the death of Zeeshan and three others”.
LHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan said that “if the victim family wishes, the court can order a judicial inquiry into the incident”.
The bench ordered the JIT formed to probe the killings to summon the eyewitnesses and record their statements. It further asked the government to inform the court about its decision regarding the formation of a judicial commission within a week.
The additional attorney general told the court that the federal government was waiting for a report on the case from the provincial government.
“You keep saying that a lot has been done [in the investigation], but no work has been done on paper,” Justice Sadat Ali Khan complained.
“Police should record the statements of the people present at the scene of the crime,” the judges ordered.
The court also directed the federal government to present its report regarding the formation of a judicial commission on February 14 and adjourned the case.
Earlier, LHC had said that the authority to form a judicial commission to investigate into the tragedy rests solely with the government.
“The decision to initiate a judicial inquiry cannot be taken by the courts,” Chief Justice Khan had said.
Justice Khan remarked that “the Sahiwal tragedy probe was a case of particular significance and censured the investigation team for its failure to follow court orders”.
The bench gave Prime Minister Imran Khan four days to submit comments on the matter of forming a judicial commission.
Four people, including three members of a family, were killed in an alleged encounter in Sahiwal on January 19. CTD personnel had 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.
The incident sparked a national outcry and prompted the PM to order an investigation into the killings.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Punjab Inspector General (IG) Amjad Javed Saleemi have been made respondents in the petition.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government has ruled out the possibility of formation of judicial commission with Buzdar saying that the government was satisfied with the “transparent” proceedings of the JIT.
The CM had said on Thursday the government might think about a judicial commission if it felt the JIT was not up to the task, adding that five detained CTD officials were already under investigation.
However, the families of the victims have been continuously demanding the formation of a judicial commission, maintaining that the findings of the JIT are “not satisfactory”.
On Wednesday, the Punjab government had acknowledged that the “method of encounter” followed by the CTD in Sahiwal was wrong as the officials should have checked the vehicle before opening fire.
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