CM calls meeting on Sahiwal incident; JIT to submit report in 72 hours

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar has summoned an important meeting over the Sahiwal incident on Sunday (today), ARY News reported.

The provincial law minister, home secretary and inspector general of Punjab will attend the meeting today. The security situation and progress of investigation on the matter will come under discussion during the session.

Moreover, the Radio Pakistan reported, the chief minister Punjab has ordered the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), constituted to probe into Sahiwal incident, to conduct a transparent probe and submit its report within 72 hours.

The minister was speaking to media after his arrival at Sahiwal where he visited the hospital to inquire about the health of the injured children of the incident.

Meanwhile, under the directives of Punjab Chief Minister, the Counter Terrorism Department personnel, involved in the suspicious encounter, have been taken into custody.

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.”