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Published 23 Aug, 2010 12:00am

Sharifs, Taseer and Malik visit Sialkot: Anti-terrorism court will hear lynching case: CM

SIALKOT, Aug 22 Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Governor Salmaan Taseer, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz patron Nawaz Sharif and Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch on Sunday visited the family of two brothers who were lynched by a mob in the presence of police officials here on Aug 15.

Talking to reporters at the residence PML-N MNA Khawaja Asif, the chief minister gave 48 hour deadline to Punjab Police Inspector General Tariq Saleem Dogar to arrest the civilians as well as police officials involved in the lynching of Mughees and Muneeb.

He said all those linked with lynching would be tried in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) and the case would be heard on a daily basis. He said the case would be decided in days or weeks instead of months or years. He said police were responsible for this barbaric incident and footage of this savagery was the proof of police involvement in the incident.

Later, Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif called the victims' family to the house of Khawaja Asif and expressed their condolences. They assured the family of speedy justice and arrest of all people involved in the lynching.

Talking to the grieved family in Sialkot's Hajipura locality, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the killers of Mughees and Muneeb would be hanged at the same place where the two brothers were hanged a week ago.

Malik said 10 people involved in lynching had been arrested so far. He asked people to provide information to a judicial commission investigating the lynching on the orders of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

He said it would be failure of the state if any accused involved in this incident escaped punishment. He said findings of the inquiry would be made public.

The interior minister said the footage showed by various news channels had been given to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for identification of those involved in the lynching.

He said the lynched youth had no criminal record. He said that names of some of the people involved in lynching had been put on the Exit Control List so that they do not escape justice.

Governor Salmaan Taseer accompanied Malik.

Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch also visited the victims' family and offered his condolence.

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