Sahiwal incident JIT report declares Khalil family innocent: sources

LAHORE: The joint investigation team (JIT) of Sahiwal police encounter incident in its final report on Thursday declared the deceased Khalil and his family members innocent, ARY News reported.

However, sources said, the JIT report revealed that dozens of messages were found in Zeeshan’s phone establishing his contact with suspected criminals.

Zeeshan’s brother also confirmed about suspected people’s visiting their house, said the sources.

They said Zeeshan would give protection to such people at home.

“The intelligence report was also about Zeeshan. While, Khalil’s family could have been saved, but the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials misused their authority,” they said.

Read More: Sahiwal encounter: ‘We are not satisfied with JIT probe,’ says Khalil’s brother

The sources said all those six officials involved in firing were arrested, while no traces of firing from inside the car were found.

Khalil was killed along with his wife, daughter and another man Zeeshan in a shady encounter involving the Punjab police’s CTD on a highway in the Qadirabad area of Sahiwal district on January 19.

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.

The CTD had said Zeeshan was wanted in several cases of crime, including the kidnapping of Ali Haider Gilani, the son of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, and several American citizens. It had also claimed he was the deputy chief of a banned outfit.