PAT presses fresh murder charges against PM Nawaz, close aides

Case relates to deaths of three people in clashes with police as protesters attempted to storm PM House

ISLAMABAD:
A double-murder case was registered on Wednesday against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and other high-ranking officials on Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) complaint.

The PAT pressed fresh murder charges for the deaths of three people in clashes with the police that took place on the night of August 30 after protesters allegedly attempted to storm the prime minister’s official residence and used cranes to remove barricades.

The Secretariat police registered the case on the complaint of the PAT Central Deputy Secretary Information Umar Riaz Abbasi.

On September 15, Judge Raja Jawad Abbasi of the session court ordered the Station House Officer in Secretariat police to register a first information report (FIR) against PM Nawaz and his close aides as well as the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) against the killing of PAT workers.

The complainant named IG Islamabad Khalid Khattak, Punjab IGP Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mujahid Sherdil, Islamabad SSP operations, SHO Secretariat police station and others in the FIR.

The ministers were booked for involvement in the murder of PAT supporters, Rafiullah, 25, and Gulfam Adil, 30,

In the FIR, Abbasi alleged that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar gave orders to men clad in police uniforms to open fire at PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, several key party leaders and their supporters during his visit of the site along with other officials on the night of the incident.

Following the orders, men wearing uniforms of Islamabad police, Punjab police, Punjab Constabulary and Railways police opened fire on the unarmed men, women and children resulting in the killing of two men and leaving over 1,000 people injured, it stated.


“The men opened indiscriminate straight fire on Qadri and other leaders of PAT and heavy shelling followed,” it added.

“Dr Qadri’s health deteriorated rapidly after ‘expired dated shells’ were fired,” said the FIR.

The FIR revealed that Nisar was accompanied by IG Islamabad, SSP Islamabad, DC Islamabad, several SPs and DSPs, SHOs and their subordinates belonging to Islamabad police, Punjab police, Punjab Constabulary, Kashmir police and railways police who were equipped with deadly weapons at the time of his visit.

The FIR specifically added that Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique came to the site of the incident flanked by men clad in railways police uniform.

The case has been registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 109 (punishment of abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on court’s orders.

In response to a petition filed by PAT leader Abbasi, Judge Raja Jawad Abbasi of the sessions court had ordered the SHO Secretariat police on Monday to register a case against PM Nawaz and others against the killing of PAT workers.

At least 13 FIRs were registered in different police stations against the leadership of PAT and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), after their supporters clashed with police on the same night.

A copy of the FIR obtained by our correspondent Rizwan Shehzad can be viewed here:

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