LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat says the government will not tolerate extrajudicial killings by police.

He was speaking to the media along with Muhammad Afzaal, the father of ATM thief Salahuddin Ayubi who was allegedly killed by police in custody.

Earlier on Saturday, Afzaal and members of his family met Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and expressed his satisfaction over the government’s action following the killing of his son.

The chief minister condoled the death of Ayubi and promised the family that the government would leave no stone unturned to punish the perpetrators.

DIG-level officer to inquire into the case

Raja Basharat said the chief minister stated that those responsible for the Rahim Yar Khan incident would be punished. The additional chief secretary (Home) had been directed to initiate work on a proposed law, he said.

He said the chief minister directed the Punjab IG to appoint a DIG-level officer to inquire into the case and order fresh postmortem of Ayubi.

He said concrete reforms would be made to make police a public-friendly force.

He said any government school or institution would be named after Ayubi after instructions of the governor were received.

Usama Khawar Ghumman, the counsel for the grieved family, confirmed that the chief minister acceded to family’s demands and promised appointing a DIG to head the investigation, initiating the legal process for inclusion of sections of ATA 1997, if the inquiry committee and judicial commission recommended.

He stated that the government also promised shifting the place of trial from Rahim Yar Khan to Lahore.

PPP: Hasan Murtaza, PPP parliamentary leader, has criticised the chief minister for “summoning” the family members of ATM thief Salahuddin Ayubi to his office which, he said, was a humiliation to them.

In a statement issued here, Mr Murtaza said Buzdar summoned the victim’s family at his “Darbar” to frighten them. He said the CM should ensure dispensation of justice in this case instead of humiliating the family.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2019