LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday said that the government has the authority to form a judicial commission in order to investigate the Sahiwal tragedy.
A two-member bench led by LHC Chief Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed Khan heard a joint petition against the Sahiwal joint investigation team (JIT) and the need for a judicial commission and said that “the decision to initiate a judicial inquiry cannot be taken by the courts”.
Following this, the bench directed Prime Minister Imran Khan to submit a response on the formation of a judicial commission by Thursday.
When the petitioners’ counsel, Barrister Ehtesham, referred to the Model Town judicial commission as a precedent, the LHC chief justice said, “There was no such provision now as the law had since been changed.”
The LHC chief justice further criticised JIT head DIG Aijaz Shah for failing to present the investigation report in the court.
Justice Khan remarked that “the Sahiwal tragedy probe was a case of particular significance and censured the investigation team for its failure to follow court orders”.
Four people, including three members of a family, were killed in an alleged encounter in Sahiwal on January 19. CTD personnel had said they had killed a local commander of Islamic State or Daesh and three others in the operation. However, eyewitnesses and three children, whose parents were killed, disputed the claim.
The incident sparked a national outcry and prompted the PM to order an investigation into the killings.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Punjab Inspector General (IG) Amjad Javed Saleemi have been made respondents in the petition.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government has ruled out the possibility of formation of judicial commission with Buzdar saying that the government was satisfied with the “transparent” proceedings of the JIT.
The CM had said on Thursday the government might think about a judicial commission if it felt the JIT was not up to the task, adding that five detained CTD officials were already under investigation.
However, the families of the victims have been continuously demanding the formation of a judicial commission, maintaining that the findings of the JIT are “not satisfactory”.
On Wednesday, the Punjab government had acknowledged that the “method of encounter” followed by the CTD in Sahiwal was wrong as the officials should have checked the vehicle before opening fire.
