Model Town massacre: Damning report points fingers at Shehbaz, Sana, Punjab Police

• Baqar Najafi report explains uncompromising determination of Sanaullah to thwart Qadri’s objectives influenced police’s heavy-handed strategy

• None of the witnesses confirms ‘disengagement orders’ by Shehbaz; Justice Najafi terms position taken by Punjab CM ‘appears to be an afterthought defence’

• ‘It is shocking to note that everyone has deliberately but unsuccessfully tried to cover each other from possible adverse legal effects’

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday evening released the Model Town enquiry tribunal report, which has blamed the provincial government, including Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, and police for the 2014 incident in which 14 supporters of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) were killed.

Justice Baqar Najafi’s report was released after three years following a Lahore High Court (LHC) directive to make it available for public consumption.

Headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, the bench ordered that the report be handed over to the victims of the 2014 incident.

The report—which was released through the website of Punjab government’s public relations directorate—makes it quite clear why the provincial government fought strenuously to prevent its release.

One of the main questions deliberated in the report is whether the Punjab chief minister gave the order of ‘disengagement’ and why it was not communicated to those on the ground.

Describing the chronology of events, Justice Najafi reports that Rana Sanaullah—then Punjab parliamentary affairs minister—seems to have already decided on June 16, 2014, that PAT Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri would be allowed no opportunity whatsoever to hold a long march from Rawalpindi to Lahore.

This uncompromising determination of Sanaullah to thwart Dr Qadri’s political objectives, as well as preventing the latter’s planned long march, ended up influencing the police’s heavy-handed strategy in dealing with the situation, which resulted in the needless loss of lives the very next day, Justice Najafi argues in the report.

It’s important to state that Justice Najafi himself does not affix responsibility for the tragedy, but he invites readers to review the facts and circumstances and “easily fix the responsibility of the unfortunate Minhajul Quran incident” themselves.

A FEW OF JUSTICE NAJAFI’S STARTLING OBSERVATIONS:

“The facts and circumstances of the bloodbath clearly show that the police officers actively participated in the massacre.

“The actions of police of firing and severely beating the people on the crime scene is irrefutably suggestive that the police did exactly for which they were sent and gathered over there.

“The operation planned and designed under the chairmanship of the then law minister resulted in gruesome killings could have easily been avoided.

“The apathy and recklessness of all authorities in Punjab in the matter under hand created genuine doubts about their innocence.”

Justice Najafi, in his report, recalls that, during the June 16 meeting, Sanaullah was told that the PAT was seeking to overthrow the government and bring a “revolution”, which the minister made clear that Qadri would not be allowed to achieve.

Afterwards, the commissioner Lahore is said to have briefed the minister about the barriers placed on roads around the Minhajul Quran Academy—which were technically illegal and could be considered and treated as encroachments by the authorities.

As per Justice Najafi’s account, Sanaullah seems to have pounced on this ‘excuse’ to disperse the PAT supporters from their institution Minhajul Quran’s vicinity.

Justice Najafi writes: “It was decided to remove them [the encroachments] with immediate effect. Dr Tauqeer Shah also consented on behalf of the Chief Minister, Punjab, [Shahbaz Sharif] for the removal of the barriers.”

The report reads that the police were then sent over to take action, reaching the spot around midnight of June 16, 2014, to execute their orders; however, “The furious mob and [PAT] sympathisers commenced pelting stones on police.”

As a retaliatory measure, “The police resorted to firing towards the protesters, leaving many persons injured at the site of the incident […] some of whom succumbed to their injuries afterwards,” the report states.

“Level of offensive” used by police was not “by any stretch of the imagination” commensurate with the resistance offered by the “unarmed PAT workers,” observes Justice Najafi.

He also notes, as per Section 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the order to open fire must have been given specifically by an officer of the police not below the rank of an Assistant Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent of Police.

“The tribunal, therefore, remained conscious of the deliberate silence and concealment of facts by police officials/officers […] creating circumstances to think that the police had to abide by the command announced secretly (or openly) to achieve the target at the cost of even killing the unarmed but precious citizens of Pakistan,” he states. “This led the tribunal to say that this motif of betrayal of law by the police aimed at burying the truth speaks volumes of their high handedness.”

In a troubling revelation, Justice Najafi recalls that when the federal government was asked why the Punjab police chief and DCO Lahore were changed in the run-up to the Model Town “bloodbath”, it did not provide any satisfactory response. “Such facts and circumstances obviously lead to an adverse opinion,” his report states.

“The day (Jun 17, 2014) and time (between 10.30am to 12pm) both are very vital as the IG Punjab did not practically take over the command of Punjab Police [by then] and at the same time the honourable new chief justice was about to take oath. Had this tribunal been empowered to investigate, the hidden truth might have been exposed,” Justice Najafi writes.

NO ORDER OF ‘DISENGAGEMENT’ BY CM SHEHBAZ:

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s role in the incident is also questioned.

The report mentions the news conference of the Punjab CM after the incident on June 17, in which Shehbaz did not mention that he gave the order of ‘disengagement’.

“According to him [Shehbaz Sharif], having seen the standoff at 9.30am on TV, he immediately contacted his secretary, Dr Tauqir Hussain Shah, on phone to order the police to disengage forthwith,” recalls Dr Najafi. However, Justice Najafi notes, this statement does not corroborate with what Rana Sanaullah or the Punjab home secretary deposed before him.

“The collected reports from all concerned and the affidavits submitted by the police officers in the field do not depict that any order of ‘disengagement’ by the chief minister, Punjab, was ever conveyed/received,” the report states, adding, “It is shocking to note that everyone has deliberately but unsuccessfully tried to cover each other from possible adverse legal effects.”

The report states, “While putting all the facts and the circumstances [together], it has become crystal clear that [the] order for disengagement was not passed at all. Rather, the position taken by CM Punjab appears to be an afterthought defence not taken before the nation in the press conference.”

The report also criticised members of the Punjab police for their complicity in the incident.

“…no police official from top to bottom, whether actively participated in the operation or not, did utter a single word about the person under whose command the police resorted to firing upon the PAT workers. Understandably, all were in unison on withholding information from this tribunal… unfortunately, such are the facts and circumstances under which 14 persons have been shot”

Moreover, the report expresses disappointment over the fact that the Punjab government did not empower the tribunal under Section 11 of the Punjab Tribunals Ordinance, 1959.