Relatives of Sahiwal encounter victims to meet JIT head, record statements only if satisfied

Published February 4, 2019
Punjab chief minister's spokesperson Dr Shahbaz Gill addresses the media. — DawnNewsTV
Punjab chief minister's spokesperson Dr Shahbaz Gill addresses the media. — DawnNewsTV

Punjab chief minister's spokesperson Dr Shahbaz Gill on Monday said he had assured family members of deceased Mohammad Khalil, who was killed along with his wife and daughter in the Sahiwal encounter, that if, despite all promises being made, they were not satisfied with the probe into the victims' deaths, a judicial commission on the incident would be formed according to their wishes.

In a press conference along with Khalil's brother Jalil and relative Jameel, a government representative announced that the deceased's relatives had decided that they would meet with the head of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the Sahiwal killings, Ijaz Hussain Shah.

The relatives will meet Shah tomorrow at 1pm and go over both circumstantial and eye-witness evidence that had been collected following the incident.

The elite Punjab police had in an alleged fake encounter last month killed four people, including parents Khalil and Nabeela, their teenage daughter, and neighbour Zeeshan, sending shock waves across the country as one of the couple's three surviving children who were witness to the episode denied the official version in a video that went viral on social media.

The government representative today added that if Khalil's family were reassured and their distrust no longer remained, the relatives would record their statements with the JIT, in light of which a conclusion would be reached in the investigation.

He also said that the 'false' first information report (FIR) registered by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) following the incident should be thrown out and they should be given justice.

Earlier on Monday, while hearing a petition calling for the formation of a judicial commission to replace the joint investigation team currently looking into the case, Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Shamim Ahmed had ordered that the testimony of the family members of the deceased be recorded.

In the press conference today evening, the provincial government's representative said that JIT head Shah had told him that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) had been asked for videos regarding the incident, adding that those would be made part of the evidence.

As far as forensics are concerned, empty bullet casings that were recovered from the site of the incident were in the custody of the JIT. The representative added that as per the JIT head, weapons would be recovered from the five individuals, who were on judicial remand, once they were in police custody again. He said the weapons will be sent along with the empties to a forensic lab to be matched.

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