LAHORE, Aug 26: Situation on the Okara military farms remained explosive on Monday as heirs of Salman Masih, who died in Saturday’s shooting by the Rangers, refused to bury his body.

They demanded post-mortem examination and the registration of an FIR containing their version before the burial.

Bishop Joseph Coots from Faisalabad and Father Anthony Sikandar were holding talks with DCO Khalid Masood on the issue till late Monday evening as the body of the slain was lying in the compound of the church where about 200 people, both men and women, were also present.

The tenants present there pledged not to bow before the “state” violence and continue their movement for ownership rights. Talking to a group of newsmen at the Catholic Church in Chak 10/4-L, the heirs regretted that the police did not entertain their complaint and instead registered a murder case against the victim party on the direction of the Rangers authorities.

Anjuman press secretary Mohammad Amir said they were not aware whether postmortem on the body of Salman Masih had been done as the authorities had not issued any report.

Salman was killed at 6pm on Saturday but his body was handed over to the heirs on early Monday. The 20-year-old youth was a matric student.

Amir said officials of law-enforcement agencies posted at pickets were not allowing people of nearby villages to attend Salman’s funeral.

Anjuman’s executive body member Mohammad Saleem said a team comprising Kissan Board Pakistan president Sadiq Khakwani, Punjab president Mohammad Ibrahim, Haji Ghulam Husain, Haji Rashid Ahmad, Ijaz Masih, Iftikhar Masih and Saleem himself held parleys with Brig Ehsan Tiwana, SP Aslam Tareen and DCO Khalid Masood on late Sunday night.

“We asked the Rangers to hand over bodies of the people killed in Saturday’s firing and show us the injured for our satisfaction,” he said, adding the government agencies had accepted the demands on the condition that the tenants would not indulge in rioting and blockade of the G. T. Road.

Saleem said the tenants’ team agreed to the condition when the authorities promised that pickets manned by Rangers and police on roads leading to villages on Okara military farms would be removed and no villager would be arrested or tortured. But, he regretted, the tenants were keeping their promise while the Rangers and police authorities were violating the agreement.

When contacted Brig Tiwana said the issue would be resolved only after the tenants would bury the body of Salman Masih.

A handout issued by the Punjab government at 12.30am on Tuesday claimed: “The conflict between the Okara military farms administration and tenants has nearly come to an end, and both the parties have agreed to continue the process of dialogue for solving the dispute.”