LAHORE: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek has announced a nationwide protest against what it alleges government-dictated false report on the Model Town killings by the Joint Investigation Team.

PAT President Raheeq Abbasi told a press conference here on Thursday that demonstrations would be held against the government at all towns and cities starting from Friday (today).

The JIT report, he said, proved their apprehensions that the investigation process would be manipulated and nobody could get justice while the present rulers were in power.

He lamented that instead of providing justice to the poor and helpless families whose members were killed in the alleged police firing, the JIT protected the influential and the “murderers”.

He said the PAT would contact foreign missions, human right organisations worldwide, European Union and all other forums in search of justice.

Flanked by Khurram Gandapur, Zahid Fayyaz, Jawad Hamid and Sohail Raza, Mr Abbasi raised three points: 1) The government promised to appoint an independent JIT with no Punjab police official as its member. 2) The Model Town case would be sent to a military court, and, 3) Justice Baqar Najafi Commission report would be made public and all the cases registered against PAT workers would be placed before an independent JIT.

But, he regretted, none of these promises were fulfilled.

During the press conference clippings and tapes of the alleged threats hurled by Khwaja Saad Rafique and then Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah at PAT leadership were played before the media.

The PAT leader recalled that in his initial statement under oath Rana Sana had said that on June 16, 2014, in a meeting, which he chaired, the removal of encroachments was discussed. “How can in his later statement he disassociate himself from the whole incident?”

The PAT leader thanked opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rashid for raising the issue in the house.

PTI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has termed Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report about Model Town tragedy a pack of lies, wherein the rulers have been given a clean chit. It says the rulers’ hands were blood-stained in the Model Town and Faisalabad incidents.

In a statement, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry demanded the rulers should also release the report of Judicial Commission’s inquiry into Model Town tragedy, wherein 14 Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers were killed by police.

He said the blood of those killed in Model Town and Faisalabad would not go waste and the rulers would have to be accountable for the killing of 14 people. He said the heirs of the Model Town tragedy victims must be dispensed justice and added that the PTI would continue to stand by the victims and deprived people in the country.

PPP: The PPP has said that the Punjab government’s effort to bail out the accused of Model Town tragedy through the joint investigation team report will not succeed.

“Why the Punjab government is not making public the judicial commission report on the Model Town incident in which 14 workers of the Pakistan Awani Tehreek were killed and 90 injured by the police firing?,” PPP Central Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo asked and commented perhaps it held the top guns of the Punjab government responsible for the tragedy.

He alleged that the JIT had been formed to exonerate Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the then law minister, Rana Sanaullah.

The PPP leader wondered the judicial commission was formed by the government itself but it was deliberately not making its report public.

“Only inference that could be drawn from the hesitation of the government is that its findings have held the top government functionaries responsible for killing the innocent people,” he said.

Making the judicial commission’s report public would meet the imperatives of justice and fair play while its hiding “under the safe official custody” was giving an impression of the mala fides on the part of the government, he added.

Wattoo said the smokescreen of the JIT would not bail out the top functionaries of the Punjab government unless it decided to make public the judicial commission report.

A one-man judicial commission (Justice Baqar Ali Najfi) had probed the Model Town incident and reportedly held the Punjab government responsible for the killings.

According to media reports Shahbaz Sharif had never ordered police to disengage. Then law minister Rana Sanaullah and principal secretary to CM Dr. Tauqir Shah had mentioned in their affidavits to the commission that they had never been directed by the chief minister to “disengage” the police.

On the other hand, the JIT’s report said on rumours that PAT activists had abducted two policemen and that another policeman had been killed, some personnel of the force opened fire either on the orders of the then SP (security) Salman Ali or on their own. All JIT members also unanimously declared Shahbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah ‘innocent’.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2015

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