LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday partially recorded statement of a prosecution witness during hearing of a private complaint filed by Idara Minhajul Quran/Pakistan Awami Tehreek about 2014 Model Town incident. The testimony of the organisation’s administration officer, Jawad Hamid, was in progress when the court adjourned further hearing for Wednesday (today).

The court is holding a day-to-day hearing into the private complaint on the direction of Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

In this case, the court had already indicted 116 police officials mentioned as accused in the PAT complaint.

The court had in 2017 partially admitted the complaint against 125 officials of police and district government while rejecting it to the extent of implicating former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and 10 others, including some federal and provincial ministers.

Appeals of the accused officials summoned by the trial court were also pending with the Lahore High Court.

The CJP had also directed the high court to decide all such appeals within two weeks.

At least 14 persons were killed and over 100 injured during an anti-encroachment operation outside the Model Town residence of PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on June 17, 2014.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2018