Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat has claimed that the Sahiwal encounter on Saturday in Quaidabad locality of Sahiwal district was "100 percent genuine" and an "in-camera" briefing will be arranged on Wednesday (today) for journalists about the links of one of the victim Zeeshan Javed with proscribed outfit Daesh. "The operation was 100 percent genuine," said the Law Minister while reposing to a query raised by a journalist at a press conference on Wednesday. It was arranged to brief media about initial findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted to probe the "encounter" in Sahiwal in which three members of a family among four people were brutally gunned down by law enforcers.
When another journalist asked whether the JIT interrogated any member of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since it had provided intelligence to the CTD, Raja Basharat avoided giving clear answer, saying they work within their limits. The Minister also announced to arrange an "in-camera" briefing on Wednesday (today) for journalists to reveal alleged links of diseased Zeeshan with militant outfit Daesh.
He added that initial findings of the JIT have held the officers of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) responsible for the killings of the same family and their friend Zeeshan, who was a suspected terrorist according to security agencies. The CTD spokesperson had also accused Zeeshan as an active member of Daesh and said he used to travel with families to avoid police checking.
The minister said the Additional IG Operations Punjab, AIG CTD Punjab and the DIG CTD have been removed and ordered to report to the federal government while SSP CTD and DSP CTD Sahiwal region have also been suspended. Five CTD officials involved in the killings have also been ordered to appear before an anti-terrorism court after they were challaned in the case, he added.
Basharat was accompanied by Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and other members of the PTI government. Before the press conference, a high-level security meeting was held under the chair of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in which Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, Punjab Chief Secretary, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi, Raja Basharat and the Additional Chief Secretary for Home and top officials from relevant agencies also participated. Additional Inspector General (AIG) Ijaz Hussain Shah, who is heading the JIT, was also in attendance.
Earlier in the day, Additional IG Ijaz Hussain Shah while talking to journalists said the report that would be presented to the CM should not be considered as a final report. He asserted that a comprehensive report on a tragedy of this nature could not be completed in two or three days. To a query, the AIG said that six personnel of the CTD have been taken into custody and are being questioned, adding that the JIT team had recorded the statements of five eyewitnesses.
It is pertinent to remind that the JIT on Tuesday had recorded the accounts of various eyewitnesses who claimed that police had fired the first bullet and the individuals who were killed in the incident had not seemed to cause any trouble. A day prior, the JIT team had also visited the scene of the incident, collected evidence and recorded eyewitness accounts.
According to one eyewitness account, police started firing from the car as a result of which the children's mother was struck, following which she fell onto the children. The police then removed the children from the car and started firing again.
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