Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the Punjab government to submit an appeal against the verdict handed down by a special anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitting all suspects in the Sahiwal encounter case, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Friday.

In a post shared on Twitter, Dr Awan said the premier had also instructed the authorities to investigate weaknesses and shortfalls in the case presented by the complainant pleading the case.

Later in the day, Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja announced that the prosecutor general had been notified of the government's decision to become a complainant in the case.

He further said that a "fact finding commission" had been formed to ascertain the lapses in the case's prosecution and investigation which led to the suspects' acquittal.

The law minister also raised concerns over the family's "acceptance" of the court's verdict. He said that "even if the family is satisfied, the government is not".

On Thursday, the ATC in question had acquitted all six personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the charge of killing four persons in an alleged encounter earlier this year.

In a subsequent tweet, the special assistant to the premier today said that the whole country had seen the video of the parents being shot in front of their children.

"The government is committed to providing justice to [these] innocent children. If their family doesn't become the plaintiff, then the state will act as the plaintiff in the case."

In January, Mohammad Khalil, his wife and their four children were travelling in a car, with their neighbour Zeeshan behind the steering wheel, when CTD personnel intercepted the vehicle and opened fire on them. Later, the CTD officials claimed they had intelligence-based information that Zeeshan had links with a terrorist outfit.

Three minor children of Khalil — Muhammad Umair, Jazba and Muneeba — survived the attack with minor injuries.

On Jan 19, Yousafwala police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) on the complaint of Muhammad Jalil, Khalil's brother, under Sections 302, 324, 337(F1, F-A1 and F3) and 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Initially, the trial was conducted in Sahiwal. However, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had on June 17 shifted the proceedings to Lahore, allowing an application filed by the complainant.

The suspects — Safdar Hussain, Ahsan Khan, Muhammad Ramzan, Saifullah, Hasnain Akbar and Nasir Nawaz — were acquitted by the trial court yesterday.

"The prosecution has failed to prove the case against the accused [...] while dispensing justice the court has to see the evidence available on record," trial judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta ruled in the verdict.