Plea to register case against Hoti

Applications were filed to register criminal case against K-P CM Ameer Haider Hoti and top police officials.

Four people injured during the April 12 firing incident on Monday filed applications before district and sessions judge Abbottabad to register criminal case against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haidar Hoti and top police and administration officials of Hazara and Abbottabad.

Eight people were killed and scores of others suffered injuries during police firing on April 12 as local people launched protest in Abbottabad against the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The judge has fixed July 14 as the date of hearing in all the 11 petitions filed under section 22-A, seeking registration of FIRs against police officers involved in the firing episode.

The four injured, who filed their pleas on Monday, include Malik Shoukat Ali, Manzoor-ul-Hussan, Muhammad Arshid and Sardar Javed. They alleged that they had received bullet wounds during the police action and when, after medical treatment, they went to Cantt Police Station for registration of FIR, they were turned away.

They requested the court to direct local police to record the FIRs. Seven separate applications of identical nature are already pending before the court in which the petitioners have sought registration of cases against District Police Officer Iqbal Marwat, SHO Cantt Asif Gohar, SHO City Jehangir Khan, Constables Muhammad Saleem and Arshid.

According to the petitioners, they were involved in firing on peaceful protesters.

Naseer Khan Jadoon, a leader of Hazara Tehrik, told the media that family members of all the deceased as well as the injured will move petitions for registration of FIR against police officers “responsible for the killings”.

He said the Tehrik leaders have already rejected the findings of the judicial commission which, according to him, was economical with the truth.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2010.