Daily Times

The Punjab government on Wednesday decided that the findings of the initial joint investigation team (JIT) report in the Sahiwal tragedy shall remain confidential.

Addressing the media, Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja maintained that only the final report shall be made public. He further stated that authorities have taken the necessary steps outlined in the initial report.

Initial post-mortem report of Sahiwal fake encounter’s victims released.

On the occasion, he apprised that the Sahiwal tragedy was a matter of grave concern and was therefore on Punjab Assembly’s agenda for the day.

During the address, the provincial law minister clarified that the operation had been conducted based on intelligence. The authorities are keen on completing the initial groundwork and forwarding the case to an anti-terrorism court, said Raja. Speaking on the matter, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said that the provincial government within 72 hours of the incident demonstrated its commitment of acquiring justice for the victims of the tragedy.

Authorities have removed the commander of the counter terrorism police in the province of Punjab and will charge five police with murder over a shooting last week in which an innocent family was killed.

The incident on Saturday saw counter-terrorism officials open fire on a car they said was being used by an Islamic State leader in the province, Zeeshan Javed. He was killed along with three passengers – grocery store owner Mohammad Khalil, his wife and their 12 year-old daughter.

However, the official account of the incident was disputed by witnesses, including Khalil’s three other children, who survived the attack and discredited by video footage widely circulated on social media.

The latest in a long series of episodes of alleged police brutality sparked protests in Lahore and drew condemnation from politicians including Prime Minister Imran Khan, who promised a clean up of the Punjab police.

Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said the provincial government had removed the head of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and three other officials who will all face disciplinary action. “Initial report of the Joint Investigation Team for the Sahiwal encounter reveals that the CTD officials were responsible for killing Khalil and his family, who were innocent,” Basharat said.

Published in Daily Times, January 24^th 2019.