Sahiwal tragedy: Forensic examination of Zeeshan’s vehicle to be performed

Audit will determine whether or not any shots were fired from inside the vehicle

The vehicle involved in the Sahiwal tragedy and allegedly owned by one of the victims, Zeeshan, was sent for forensic examination on Thursday.

A forensic audit of the vehicle will be performed at the country's sole forensic lab.

Forensic experts will determine whether or not any shots were fired from inside the vehicle and to ascertain of the distance and the number of bullets fired at the vehicle by CTD officials.



On Tuesday, the intelligence agencies claimed to have found “strong evidence” indicating that Zeeshan Javed, the car driver killed along with an innocent family in Sahiwal earlier this week, had links with a terrorist group.

According to sources, data from a mobile phone seized on Zeeshan shows him pictured with Usman, a high-profile terrorist who was gunned down by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in an encounter in Faisalabad on January 15.

Usman was said to be affiliated with the ultra-extremist Islamic State terrorist group, also known by its Arabic acronym Da’ish.

Investigators have also found the registration documents of Zeeshan’s car which show that the vehicle had been purchased in the name of Adeel Hafeez, another Da’ish terrorist killed in the January 15 encounter, sources added.

On January 19, the CTD claimed in a statement that they signalled a Suzuki Alto car and a motorcycle to stop near Sahiwal Toll Plaza on GT Road, but they did not pull over and instead opened fire on the police.



The CTD officials retaliated and four people, including two women, were killed by the “firing of their own accomplices” in the ensuing firefight, according to the CTD.

The operation was a follow-up of the January 15 Faisalabad raid and that they were tracing two wanted terrorists of Da’ish, Shahid Jabbar and Abdur Rehman, who were listed in the ‘red book’, they added.