Rawalpindi violence: LHC forms commission to probe incident

Punjab chief minister constitutes fact-finding team to fix responsibility for the tragedy.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has constituted a judicial commission to probe Friday’s violence in Rawalpindi, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said on Sunday.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the minister said the commission, which will be headed by Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh, was formed on the request of the Punjab government. He added that the commission will ascertain the facts surrounding the Rawalpindi incident and submit its findings to the government.

In addition to the judicial commission, Sanaullah said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also constituted a fact-finding team to probe the incident as well.



The team – which will be headed by Najam Saeed, the former chairman of the chief minister’s inspection team – will investigate whether the negligence of police, law enforcement and civil defence agencies played a role in the tragedy, he said. The team, according to him, will submit a report to the chief minister after fixing responsibility for the incident.

Sanaullah said the fact-finding team would compile its report over the next seven days. In the meantime, police will also carry out a criminal investigation into the case, arrest any suspects and present them before the court, he added.

Earlier, the Punjab government reached an understanding with Deobandi clerics and religious scholars, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to sources, the provincial government convinced the Deobandi scholars to calm down their followers and avoid any reactionary measures in response to the Rawalpindi incident, such as calling strikes or protest rallies. In return, the government assured the religious leaders that it would bear all expenses for the reconstruction of shops and buildings burnt down during the violence, and provide some compensation to the families of the victims.

The government has also vowed to bring to justice all those responsible for the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2013.