ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was requested on Tuesday to consider constituting a judicial commission to investigate the Jan 19 Sahiwal incident in which four people, including a man, his wife and teenage daughter, were killed by the police’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

An appeal moved by Mohammad Jaleel, a brother of deceased Mohammad Khalil, stated that the performance of the five-man joint investigation team (JIT), appointed on the directive of the additional chief secretary of Punjab’s home department, had so far been doubtful.

Moved through Advocate Ehtesham Amiruddin, the petition said the JIT had failed to take into account video clips of the incident made by some eyewitnesses. The video clips have been aired by many television channels.

On Jan 20, the petitioner lodged an FIR at the Yousaf Wala police station in Sahiwal district, nominating 16 personnel of the CTD. Ten of them were in uniform and six others in plain clothes at the time of the incident.

Petitioner says performance of JIT constituted to investigate killing of four people is ‘doubtful’

Khalil, along with his family, was going from Lahore to Burewala to attend a wedding ceremony in a car on Jan 19 when the CTD’s masked personnel opened fire on the vehicle. The fourth person killed in the incident was Zeeshan Javed, said to be a friend of Khalil. He was driving the car. Khalil’s son suffered a bullet injury in the incident.

Being dissatisfied with the investigation, the complainant moved a plea before the Lahore High Court, seeking an order for the constitution of a judicial commission/inquiry tribunal which should be headed by a high court judge under Section 3 of the Punjab Tribunal of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969, or under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017, and the cancellation of the notification under which the JIT was formed by the Punjab police. The purpose was to dig out the truth behind the Jan 19 Sahiwal incident.

But the high court dismissed the petition on March 18 by holding that only the federal or the provincial governments were competent to order constitution of the judicial commission.

The appeal alleged that the investigation by the JIT had changed the entire complexion of the occurrence which took place in broad daylight on a busy road.

The petition recalled that the high court in its short order of Feb 14 had clearly directed the Sahiwal sessions judge to depute a magistrate for conducting judicial inquiry into the Sahiwal incident.

The petition also recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had, during his visit to Lahore on April 10, instructed the Punjab chief minister to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the incident.

Real culprits

The petition alleged that for hiding real culprits involved in the incident, a false FIR was lodged at a Lahore police station on Jan 19 in which police tried to portray the victims as criminals and terrorists. But, it added, after a hue and cry was raised by the victims’ relatives as well as the media, another FIR was registered on Jan 20.

A Senate standing committee, meanwhile, has also concluded that the JIT will not be able to hold an impartial inquiry because of the involvement of some CTD and other senior police officials in it.

The petition highlighted that in its initial report the JIT had stated nothing about the killings. This aspect of the JIT’s initial report manifested the admission that the victims were innocent, it argued.

Moreover, the petition claim­ed, the earlier FIR gave a distorted picture of the incident in a mala fide manner only to save the CTD officials involved in it.

The petition alleged that some ministers changed their statements on the incident more than once which showed alleged connivance or ill will regarding the dispensation of justice to the petitioner and his aggrieved family.

In addition, it said, no recovery had so far been effected by the JIT which showed apathy on the part of the probe team and also the level of favour it was trying to extend to the culprits.

The petition contended that the JIT was formed by the Punjab inspector general who had not been authorised by any law to form a JIT for conducting investigation into such incidents. It claimed that the place of evidence had not been secured by the JIT and that vital evidence had been destroyed from the spot allegedly by the CTD officials.

Thus, the petition said, formation of a judicial commission by the superior courts was essential owning to non-seriousness on the part of the government to provide justice to the victims’ family. Formation of an independent judicial commission was the only way to reach the facts behind the incident, it added.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2019