Model town tragedy: JIT to record Nawaz's statement on Monday

Investigation team has recorded the statements of various PML-N leaders in the case

LAHORE: The provincial home department granted permission to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the Model Town tragedy to record the statement of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

The JIT members, led by the JIT head AD Khwaja, will record the statements of the former PM at the Kot Lakhpat jail on Monday, where the former premier is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

The investigation team has already recorded the statements of various Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders in the case.

An accountability court on Thursday granted permission to Punjab police to record the statement of incarcerated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Model Town case.



Judge Arshad Malik had presided over the hearing on a plea filed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammad Iqbal seeking court permission to interrogate the three-time premier in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat.

However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Mirza Usman opposed the request and pleaded that the accountability court was not the proper forum to seek such permission.

The prosecutor had pleaded that the petitioner should approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in this regard.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Arshad had allowed the police to meet Nawaz in the Lahore jail.

The Supreme Court had ordered the formation of a new joint investigation team (JIT) to unearth the facts that led to the killing of 14 supporters of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in a police action in Lahore on June 17, 2014.

On March 7, the newly-formed JIT had summoned PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and party leaders Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Asif and Pervaiz Rasheed to record their statements.