“Sahiwal incident is very painful,” President Alvi bemoans

KARACHI: President Dr. Arif Alvi lamented the tragic incident of Sahiwal and termed it “very painful.” 

In a statement on Twitter, Dr. Alvi said “I can not even imagine, the negative effects that have been inflicted on the minds of those children whose parents were martyred in front of their eyes.”

He added that the government would definitely take care of these children, “however, there is no replacement of parents.”

The cruel murderers behind this tragedy will get the punishment, Dr. Alvi assured.

Alleged encounter

Four people, including two women, were killed in a shady encounter involving the Punjab police’s counter-terrorism department (CTD) on a highway in the Qadirabad area of Sahiwal district on Saturday noon.

The Sahiwal incident sent shock waves across the country after one of the surviving children who witnessed the episode refuted the version of the CTD.

A child, Omair Khalil, in his initial statement said his father offered money to the people in return for not shooting at their car. “They killed my father and took the children away.”

A CTD official relayed that a car was signaled to stop along with a bike near Sahiwal Toll Plaza but the alleged terrorists resorted to firing, adding that three terrorists were able to flee away. “This incident was a continuity of the Jan 16 operation carried out in Faisalabad.”