Probing Model: Town carnage No breakthrough achieved

IGP, LDA and DCO ordered to submit reports today.

LAHORE:

Three top government officers on Thursday recorded unsatisfactory statements before the judicial commission probing the police action against activists of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) that left at least 11 people dead and 85 injured on Tuesday.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Sukhera, District Coordination Officer Capt (r) Muhammad Usman and Lahore Development Authority Director General Ahad Khan Cheema appeared before the one-man commission headed by Justice Ali Akbar Najfi.

The IGP said a police team headed by a superintendent of police (SP) was investigating the matter.

The LDA DG told the judge that the carnage had nothing to do with him as his department only dealt with the allotment of land.

The commission, however, directed him to file a detailed report on Friday (today).

The judge directed the IGP to provide the record of FIRs registered following the incident along with the names of the armed and unarmed police officers who took part in the anti-encroachment operation at the secretariat.

The commission also directed him to submit his report today.

The commission directed Cheema to present the minutes of his meeting with the IGP and capital city police officer about the operation.

The DCO was ordered to submit a report about the barriers installed around the secretariat. He was also asked to provide details of the officers who had been tasked with removing the barriers.

Meanwhile, a lawyer submitted an application before the commission requesting Justice Najfi to quit the commission.

He said the government had never implemented suggestions of several commissions formed in the past to probing different matters.

He said the commission’s appointment to investigate the Tuesday turmoil was just a “formality”. By appointing such commissions the governments tried to remove responsibility from its shoulder, he said.

Therefore, the lawyer said the judge should quit the commission in order to save the judiciary from sharing responsibility of the government’s wrongdoings.

Justice Najfi asked the audience present there for their suggestions.

Abdullah Malik, a rights activist, requested the commission to summon the media record of the carnage. He also requested the commission to order police to produce those people who had been arrested and shifted to undisclosed locations. He urged the commission to order authorities to avoid tampering with postmortem reports.

A lawyer told the commission that lawyers were being denied access to PAT workers in jails or at police stations.

Another lawyer requested the judge to issue directive for suspending action on the FIRs registered against the PAT activists. The commission was also requested to order compensation for the damaged vehicles and shops near the secretariat.

Justice Najfi also visited the secretariat on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2014.