Lahore protests Sahiwal 'encounter'

CTD Punjab submitted its initial report, claiming terrorists belonged to a defunct organisation, DAESH, were killed

LAHORE: Family members of four people killed in Sahilwal, during an alleged encounter with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), took to the streets of the provincial capital in protest on Saturday.

They were joined by other residents who also demonstrated against the killings. Among the deceased were two females, including an underage teenager.

Angry protesters blocked main Ferozepur Road, a major traffic artery of the provincial capital. The family members of the victims claimed that their relatives were not involved in any sort of criminal or terrorist activity. They added that the victims were going to attend the wedding ceremony of their relative in the suburban village (293 EB) of Sahiwal.

Victim Khalil's brother, Jaleel, told the media that police had not only killed their relatives, but also denied the family access to the bodies. He appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to take note of the incident and provide justice. He also demanded exemplary punishment for the police officials who were involved in the incident.

He reiterated that no member of his family had connections with terrorist groups and nor were they involved in kidnappings or any other illegal activities. Jaleel added that the police had initially claimed that the victims belonged to a terrorist organisation which kidnapped former Premier Yousaf Raza Gillani's son and an American citizen.

On the other hand, the young children, who were travelling with their family, told locals that they were going to attend a wedding ceremony, but the police had killed their parents. The video clip of the children kept circulating on social media and prompted massive criticism for the police department and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. The hashtag #Sahiwal kept trending on micro-blogging platform Twitter as citizens across the country strongly condemned the incident and demanded justice for the victim's family.

The protest caused a huge traffic jam on the roads in Lahore. The Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) also partially suspended Lahore Metro Bus operations between Kalma Chowk and Gajjumatta for security reasons.

Traffic remained stranded on Ferozpur Road and other adjoining areas for several hours. This caused some inconvenience for commuters.

Following the protest and strong public reaction, Punjab Inspector General Police Amjad Javed Saleemi took note of the incident. He sought an inquiry report of the incident from Sahiwal regional police officer (RPO) and CTD Punjab. DIG Zulfiqar Hameed will head the JIT which will also have representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau.

The CTD Punjab submitted its initial report in the incident to the IGP. According to it, the CTD team conducted a joint intelligence-based operation in which four terrorists, belonging to the defunct Da’esh organization, were killed. They also claimed to have seized weapons and explosive material were also seized from their possession.

It was stated that the CTD team tried to intercept the terrorists who were travelling in a car and on a motorcycle near Sahiwal Toll Plaza. The report added that when the terrorists opened fire on the CTD team, a shootout ensued. When the firing stopped, four people, including two women, one of them being a teenager, were found dead. It was stated that three terrorists fled from the scene, including namely Shahid Jabbar and Abdul Rehman, fled from the scene.