Govt to challenge acquittal of suspects in Sahiwal 'encounter' case

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the Punjab government to challenge the verdict announced by a special anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitting all suspects in the Sahiwal ‘encounter’ case.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted on Friday that the prime minister has also instructed the authorities to investigate weaknesses and shortfalls in the case.

وزیراعظم عمران خان نے سانحہ ساہیوال کے حوالے سے خصوصی عدالت کے فیصلے پر پنجاب حکومت کو اپیل دائر کرنے کی ہدایت دی ہے۔اس کیس کی پیروی میں استغاثہ کی کمزوری اور خامیوں کی تحقیقات کرنے کا بھی حکم دیا ہے۔

— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousAwan) October 25, 2019

In a subsequent tweet, Awan said that the whole country had seen the video of the parents being shot in front of their children. “The government is committed to providing justice to [these] innocent children. If their family doesn’t become the plaintiff, then the state will act as the plaintiff in the case.”

A day earlier, the ATC had acquitted all six suspects in the case of killing four persons in an alleged encounter earlier this year.

Six accused namely, Safdar, Ahsan, Saifullah, Husnain and Nasir were acquitted due to lack of evidence giving them the benefit of doubt.

During hearings of the case, the court had recorded statements of 49 witnesses, including close relatives of a victim Zeeshan and another victim Mohammad Khalil.

The Sahiwal tragedy

In January, 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 CTD officials maintained 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.”

The victims were identified as grocery store owner Mohammad Khalil, his wife Nabila, their 13-year-old daughter Areeba and their friend who was driving the car, Zeeshan Javed. Their son Umair Khalil sustained bullet wounds while his sister Muniba’s hand also sustained gunshot-related injuries and Hadiba, their younger sister remained unhurt.