Committee rejects inquiry report
The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights has rejected the inquiry report submitted by police on Kharotabad killings and formed a sub-committee for afresh investigation.
Balochistan police officials had informed the committee that the foreigners had hand grenades and threatened to blow up security check post.
Meanwhile earlier, Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani had directed the Kharotabad incident judicial tribunal report to be made public.
Raisani had sent the judicial report to the Chief Secretary, asking him to implement the recommendations, suggested in the report, in letter and spirit while also instructing to make the report public so that people know about the details and findings of the incident.
According to official sources, the judicial tribunal in its report had clearly mentioned the responsible law enforcement personnel who opened fire and shot dead the foreigners. The report, consisting of more than 80 pages, was submitted to the provincial government on Tuesday. Most of its parts contain witness statements.
“There are lesser chances that the report would be made public because it is against the Government functionaries, however, after the directives of the Chief Minister, it might be made public,” a senior official told this scribe.
Those witnesses produced by police had stated that the foreigners were armed and law enforcers opened fire in self-defence while private witnesses, including the driver who brought the foreigners from Kuchlak to Quetta, stated that they were unarmed.
Earlier today, it was announced that the report submitted by the judicial tribunal investigating the Kharotabad incident will not be made public, sources told Express 24/7 on Wednesday.
In the report, the tribunal pinned responsibility on security forces that opened fire on the foreigners, and declared the shooting of the unarmed foreigners "illegal".
The Quetta police had earlier branded these foreigners as terrorists and were justifying their killing, saying that they opened fire because the foreigners were armed.
Official sources said that the report will not be made public as it incriminates law enforcement agencies. They added that if the findings of the tribunal are disclosed, the media would “give it the wrong colour” and tarnish the reputation of security forces who are fighting in the war on terror.
Journalists who met Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani yesterday (Tuesday) said that it is unlikely that these police officials will be punished. They added that the government is not ready to take action against the security forces who have been held responsible for the murders of the five foreigners.
Updated from print edition (below)
Tribunal submits report to Balochistan government
The judicial tribunal probing the killing of five foreigners in Kharotabad, a suburb of Quetta, submitted its report to the Balochistan Government on Tuesday.
The report is spread over 100 pages, official sources said. The government has not made any report public so far and officials avoid commenting, saying it will be premature to say anything.
Five foreigners, including four Russians and a Tajik national, were shot dead by Frontier Corps (FC) and police personnel on May 17.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani had ordered that a tribunal be formed after conflicting and controversial statements emerged from police officials and witnesses. The tribunal recorded statements of 28 witnesses, including police, FC officials and private witnesses, in its month-long hearing.
Key witness, the driver who brought the victims from Kuchlak to Quetta, had retracted from his statement twice saying he was under threat from police officials.
Police Surgeon Dr Baqar Shah, who conducted the autopsies, had also refuted police claims.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2011.
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