Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the formation of a judicial commission on the Sahiwal killings can be considered, if need arises.

He was addressing the parliamentary committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and allies on Wednesday.

According to sources, Prime Minister Khan said he was in contact with authorities concerned during his trip to Qatar over the killings in Sahiwal.

Stating that the incident was being probed by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), Prime Minister Khan assured that the findings would be shared with the nation.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan received a summary of the JIT’s initial report of the Sahiwal killings.

The report states that the Punjab government should ensure that the complete inquiry report is presented within 30 days.

The summary mentions that five officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have been arrested over allegations of opening fire on the Khalil family.

According to the summary, further investigation is under way against the driver of the vehicle – Zeeshan.

The summary also mentions a Rs 20 million aid package announced for the bereaved family and said that the children of deceased Khalil will receive free education and health facilities. On January 19, four people – including three members of a family – were killed in an alleged encounter in Sahiwal. Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel said they had killed a local commander of militant organisation Daesh and three others in the operation. Eyewitnesses, however, disputed the claim and said the people in the car did not fire at officials, nor were any explosives recovered from the vehicle.

The dead included a man, his wife and their teenage daughter.

The report, which was submitted to Punjab chief minister on Tuesday, stated that three officials of the CTD including the head have been transferred while two officers have been suspended. Those involved in the killings would be tried by an anti-terrorism court, the report stated.

It also mentioned negligence on part of the CTD officials and said there was no link between the Khalil family killed in the incident and terrorism.

The premier also sought suggestions for reforms in Punjab Police after Sahiwal incident.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday urged the Pakistan Television (PTV) to promote the national identity and heritage, besides formulating a business plan for financial and administrative reformation of the organization.

Chairing a meeting on the reforms in PTV, he said the masses could not be made to bear the brunt of financial irregularities in the state-run television, a PM Office statement said.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Hussain, Special Assistants to PM Naeemul Haq, Iftikhar Durrani, Nadeem Afzal Gondal, PTV Managing Director Arshad Khan, federal secretary and senior officers of the information ministry.

Briefing the prime minister on the administrative and financial matters of the organization, Arshad Khan said besides administrative and financial problems, the organisation was faced with other numerous issues including capacity, production, and quality of the content.

He said owing to irregularities in the past, the organization owed Rs 5.8 billion, besides having the payables worth Rs 14 billion under the head of pensions. Another Rs 1.2 billion were also required to upgrade the network, he added.

The prime minister said being a national institution, the PTV had played a key role to highlight the national identity but unfortunately, it had been used for political motives in the past. He also directed the PTV administration to immediately formulate a well-coordinated business plan to ensure financial stability and cope with the deficit.

On this occasion, the PTV managing director also presented a cheque worth Rs 8 million to the prime minister on behalf of employees to contribute to Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund.

Published in Daily Times, January 24^th 2019.