The gruesome CTD 'encounter'

What happened on Saturday near Sahiwal by all accounts was a case of 'police encounter', a seemingly inoffensive term used by the law enforcement agencies in this country to cover up extrajudicial killings. Four occupants of a car - a couple, their 13-year old daughter and the driver - were gunned down by the personnel of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) while three small terrified children looked on, and the victims declared as terrorists. In the wake of nation-wide outrage over the bloody incident the CTD has kept changing its version. At first it claimed the head of the family was a terrorist, and that a suicide vest and some other explosive material were recovered from the car; it now says actually the driver, Zeeshan, was a terrorist with links to Daesh (ISIS). Even if there is any validity to the latest claim, he should have been arrested without causing harm to the other three people and trauma to the surviving three children. That was not so difficult. According to eye-witnesses, no one from the car fired any shots. And the son of the slain couple says his father had pleaded with the police to take money and spare their lives. At that point, the CTD people could have taken the wanted man into custody. Instead they shot four people dead.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been personally monitoring the case, directing the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to visit the scene of the incident and assure the people the culprits would be brought to justice. The provincial government has formed a JIT to uncover the truth. While its findings were still awaited, on Sunday the provincial Law Minister Busharat Raja held a press conference, where he was expected to inform the media about the progress towards holding the perpetrators to account. But he made the matters worse by coming out in support of the CTD stance, asserting Zeeshan was a terrorist. And that the other three murders were "collateral damage." To say the least, that is as insensitive a remark as can be. Had the victims belonged to an influential family the minister surely would not have made such a callous comment. It is this attitude that tells the police ordinary lives count for nothing. They can kill people in 'fake encounters" and get away too. No wonder, there have been several such cases. So far no one has been punished. A foremost example is that of former police SSP Rao Anwar, who despite involvement in the high profile Naqeebullah murder case as well as countless other killings is not only free on bail, but has the confidence to seek removal of his name from the Exit Control List.
The present case has received the attention it has because it involved children. Also, there were at least two videos that vent viral on social media confirming the eye witnesses' version of the killings. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be handed exemplary punishment. It is time the government sees such fake 'encounters' for what they are, extra judicial killings, and takes necessary measures to put a stop to this heinous practice.