LAHORE: A Lahore High Court full bench seized with appeals against trial court’s decisions about 2014 Model Town incident on Wednesday sought record of the complaints about the encroachment outside the residence of Dr Tahirul Qadri and the police contingent dispatched to the scene.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek/Idara Minhajul Quran filed the appeal against an anti-terrorism court for not summoning 12 people (all parliamentarians of the PML-N) nominated as accused by the party in its private complaint.

The court had dismissed the complaint of the PAT to the extent of the parliamentarians including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and federal and provincial ministers.

However, the court had agreed to summon 125 officials of police and district government for their trial. Consequently, the PAT and the officials including former inspector general of police Mushtaq Sukhera summoned by the trial court challenged the decision before the high court.

During Wednesday’s hearing, PAT’s counsel Azhar Siddique said the Model Town incident was a conspiracy and the government was not providing them (appellant) with the documents necessary for the trial.

He said the barricades outside the residence of Dr Qadri were put on the court orders and the police carried out an illegal operation in the name of encroachment.

The bench headed by Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan adjourned hearing for a day and directed the government to submit details of the complaints against the encroachment outside the Idara Minhajul Quran/residence of Dr Qadri in Model Town and the record of the police force reached the spot to remove the hurdles.

The bench also directed the counsel for PAT to submit list of the people killed and injured in the incident. It also summoned notification of the Sukhera as IGP and copy of the decision that acquitted Gullu Butt, an infamous character of the incident.

Prosecutor General of Punjab Eihtesham Qadir Shah and former IGP Sukhera were also present in court.

The full bench is holding day-to-day hearings on the appeals in the light of direction issued by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar who had taken a suo motu notice of the unnecessary delay in the proceedings of the trial court and the high court relating the Model Town incident cases.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2018