CCPO Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema chaired the JIT comprising SSP Shehzad Akbar, DSP Khalid Abu Bakr, along with one official each of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
All the three officers who appeared before the JIT gave verbal answers to the questions asked. The JIT then asked them to submit detailed written replies within three days.
The JIT asked DIG Operations that all police officials who were under him at the time of Model Town operation, including the divisional SPs, DSPs and other policemen, said to be 500 in number, were asked to submit written replies within three days.
In Friday’s meeting, it was further decided that the JIT will call the officials of the city district government at a later stage.
In the previous meeting of JIT, it had been decided that notices will be issued to the eyewitnesses and complainants to appear before it and kick-start proceedings.
The JIT had lamented that neither eyewitnesses, nor the complainants had appeared before it owing to Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) rejection of the commission.
The Minhajul Quran (MUQ) and PAT have refused to recognise the JIT. PAT President Dr Raheeq Abbasi had rejected the JIT stating that the team was an attempt to provide the accused with a ‘clean chit.’
Abbasi added his party had not been taken into confidence regarding the constitution of the team, and the PAT did not endorsed the nomination of CCPO Cheema for heading the team. He claimed that an impartial probe could not be carried out under Cheema as he was from Punjab, and that he had close ties with leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“Only one person included from the ISI means nothing if the team is not headed by a partial officer. All he can do is to write a dissenting note at the end of the investigation, as was the case in the report of the first JIT,” said Abbasi.
The PAT leader added that his party now believes that only way an impartial inquiry can be done is if CM Punjab resigns from his post. “This [his resignation] is our sole demand now,” said Abbasi.
A clash between police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers outside the MuQ headquarters in Model Town on June 17 left 14 PAT workers and 90 others were injured.
The police had filed an FIR of the Model Town incident against MuQ activists on the same day the incident had occurred.
However, another FIR of the incident was registered on August 28 on the complaint of the MUQ International Secretariat director Jawad Hamid.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and the former Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had been nominated in the second FIR.
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