SC withholds LHC order on suspension of new Model Town JIT

LAHORE: The Supreme Court withheld interim order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) which had suspended the new Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Model Town carnage, ARY News reported on Thursday.

A bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed rejected the Government of Punjab’s appeal against interim order of the high court.

The chief justice also urged LHC to decide petitions in the case soon to bring the Model Town case to its logical end.

The court directed the high court to decide the matter within three months. “The Supreme Court’s decision should be provided to the high court for constitution of a bench for hearing of the case”, the court headed.

The new joint investigation team (JIT) was constituted on January 3, 2019 for a fresh probe into the 2014 Model Town carnage, following a notification issued by the Punjab chief secretary.

The LHC had ordered the new JIT to stop the probe and told the government to cancel the notification of its formation after the new JIT was challenged in the high court.

On June 17, 2014, Punjab police went to remove the barriers placed outside PAT Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri’s residence and Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town of Lahore. The workers resisted the move, which led to a deadly clash leaving 14 people dead and dozens other injured.