CJP orders arrest of those who helped Shahrukh escape

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday ordered the authorities to arrest those who helped prime murder suspect Shahrukh Jatoi escape from the country.
A three-member bench headed by the CJP heard the murder case of 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan who was shot dead on December 25 in Karachi’s Defence area.
During the proceedings, the CJP addressed Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Shahid Hayat and told him that he would be responsible for any ignorance, as he had delegated the investigation of the case to a sub-inspector.
The CJP then asked the DIG if he had seized the travel documents of Shahrukh Jatoi on the basis of which he managed to escape from the country. In response, Hayat told the court that the documents were with a travelling agency, and that it was the duty of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to find out how Shahrukh managed to flee.
The CJP remarked that Shahzeb’s murder case should set an example so that everyone knows that the culprits would not be spared if any such incident occurs again. He then told the DIG that he should have arrested the aides involved in Shahrukh’s escape. Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that the Police department was the most ignorant one, “as everyone knows about the killers except police”. The CJP said that it was possible that the police had intentionally declared Shahrukh Jatoi a minor, and asked the DIG if he had scrutinised Shahrukh’s educational certificates. Responding to this, DIG Shahid Hayat told that an identity card number had been issued to him but no picture was found from the record. He told that investigations were underway to find out how the identity card number was issued to Shahrukh if he was not 18-year-old. His date of birth, as per his passport, is November 22, 1995, he told.
The CJP asserted that investigations should be carried out in a transparent manner, regardless of the influence of any party involved. Legal proceedings will not halt in any case, he added. It may be mentioned that an anti-terrorism court on Saturday ordered Shahrukh Jatoi to be sent to a juvenile jail after a medical report declared him a juvenile.
The court sent four suspects to prison, and directed the investigation officer (IO) to submit a charge sheet against them. The hearing was later adjourned to February 4.