Faisalabad riots: Home Secy’s reply sought by April 6

Haq Nawaz was shot dead during PTI’s demonstrationin Faisalabad.

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday issued a notice to the home secretary on a petition challenging the investigation report of the death of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) worker in Faisalabad on December 9, 2014.

The bench directed to the home secretary to appear on April 6 with his reply.

During the proceedings on Wednesday, the government’s counsel informed the court that the home secretary could not attend the hearing due to bad health. The bench had earlier restrained an anti-terrorism court from holding further proceedings in Haq Nawaz’s murder case.

Ata Muhammad, Haq Nawaz’s brother, had filed the petition. Nawaz was killed during a protest demonstration in Faisalabad. Former law minister Rana Sanaullah, his son-in-law Rana Shehryar, Faisalabad DCO Noorul Amin Mengal, State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali and 300 other people were named in the FIR.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report had exonerated Abid Sher Ali and Sanaullah from charges.

The petitioner claimed that the JIT investigation report was defective because it did not mention several people nominated in the FIR. He stated the JIT violated the law by not investigating all the nominated suspects.

He requested the court to set aside the report submitted before the trial court and order a new investigation.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2015.