Up in arms: We will not let govt get away with murder, says PAT

Announces country-wide protests against JIT report.

LAHORE:

Pakistan Awami Tehreek announced on Thursday that it would hold country-wide protests against the report issued by the Joint Investigation Team probing the June 17, 2014, Model Town violence.

Addressing a press conference, PAT central president Raheeq Abbasi said they would protest against the JIT investigation because, “each sentence in it is based on lies”.

He said they had no hope for justice as long as “criminals remained in power”. He said the JIT had protected the murderers instead of providing justice to the bereaved.



Abbasi said the PAT would now approach the European Union, ambassadors of various countries and international rights organisations to raise their concerns.

He demanded that the government form an impartial JIT as was promised during the PAT’s sit-in.

He said they would not accept a cop on the JIT. Abbasi said those guilty of killing PAT workers must be tried in military courts.

He demanded that the judicial commission report by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi be made public. He also asked for the JIT to look into the thousands of false cases registered against its workers.

Abbasi said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and MPA Rana Sanaullah were responsible for the Model Town violence.

He said that threats made by Khawaja Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah were on the record.



He said the JIT had distorted the truth. He said the JIT had issued a report to favour the rulers. “We cannot take this anymore… we will take to the streets from Friday,” he said.

He said several TV channels had covered the operation live yet the JIT said that PAT workers had fired shots. “The JIT must show us proof of this,” he said.

He said Sanaullah had admitted before the judicial commission that he had presided over a meeting held on June 16 to decide how to remove the barriers from around the PAT secretariat. “Yet the JIT report has completely disassociated him from the incident,” he said.

Similarly, the chief minister had admitted, before the judicial commission, that he was told of the incident after 11am and had ordered police to retreat.

The report says, that the CM was not involved in any way, Abbasi said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2015.