ATC acquits ex-cops in Model Town tragedy case

Court allows acquittal plea of former IG, Mushtaq Sukhera, former DIG Abdul Jabar and DPO Kasur Tariq Aziz

LAHORE:

An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday acquitted former Inspector General (IG) of Punjab Police Mushtaq Sukhera, former DIG operations Abdul Jabar, district police officer (DPO) Kasur Tariq Aziz and others in the 2014 Model Town tragedy case.

The accused police officials had submitted applications before the ATC for their acquittal, contending that false allegations had been levelled against them and that they had nothing to do with the case.

The Model Town tragedy was a violent clash between the Punjab police and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) activists on June 17, 2014. As a result of the clash, 14 people were killed, while more than 100 sustained injuries.

During the case hearing in the ATC, PAT counsel had argued that substantial evidence established the involvement of the accused persons in the incident. The counsel had requested the court to dismiss the acquittal pleas.

Previously, the court had acquitted the former district coordination officer of Lahore Capt (retd) Muhammad Usman in this case. The court had observed that the plaintiff, PAT, could not establish the allegations against the accused.

ATC judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar said in the judgment that the role of the accused police officials in the alleged conspiracy could not be established. The court concluded that there was no probability of the conviction of the accused in this case.

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In the case, the court had indicted more than 120 persons, including 116 police officials, on a private complaint filed by Idara Minhajul Quran for seeking their trial on charges of killing its workers.

In 2017, the court had partially admitted the complaint against 125 officials of the police and the district government, but it declined to include former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and federal and provincial ministers.

 Those, who were excluded from the case, included Hamza Shahbaz, Rana Sanaullah, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Khwaja Asif, Pervaiz Rashid, Abid Sher Ali, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Syed Tauqir Shah Azam Suleman and Rashid Langrial.