Shahbaz, Sattar visit home of lyching victims

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday visited the residence of the two brothers who were lynched by a mob last week. The chief minister met the parents and relatives of the deceased brothers.

He assured them that the culprits would be arrested and punished according to the law, adding that if any official was found guilty, he would not be spared. He also visited the crime scene.

Later, he told reporters that an inquiry committee has been formed under DIG Mushtaq Sepra who will submit a report soon. The former district police officer of Sialkot, who was suspended, has been placed under house arrest.

Meanwhile, MQM’s parliamentary leader and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Farooq Sattar said that his party’s chief Altaf Hussain had strongly condemned the killing of the two brothers, adding that Punjab was being converted into a police state.

Sattar was talking to reporters during his Sialkot visit. He said that the lynching was one of the worst examples of brutality.

He said that all elements involved in the incident should be punished. “Nobody should be allowed to take such illegal actions in future”.

Terming the incident unprecedented, he said that he had submitted an adjournment motion in parliament against the brutal killings.

The inquiry officer into the Sialkot lynching case detailed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Retd Kazim Ali Malik, has said that he would submit the inquiry report on Monday, a media report claimed. Earlier, he had said that he would submit the report on Aug 24. Justice Kazim said: “I have arrived at the right conclusion. Justice will prevail.”

Police have arrested 15 more accused in the case on Friday, bringing the total count to 100. In a major crackdown, police detained two accused from Talagang on Thursday. agencies

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2010.