Sahiwal tragedy: Deadline to submit JIT report ends, CM Buzdar fails to fulfill promise
No potential breakthrough could be achieved in the Sahiwal tragedy so far.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Promises made by the Punjab government went vain as the deadline to submit the report of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Sahiwal incident ended on Tuesday.
Additional Inspector General (IG) Establishment Ijaz Shah, who is heading the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) revealed that six officers of the Counter-Terrorism Department were under detention and statements of four eyewitnesses were recorded so far.
“It is difficult to compile a report of such a ‘big’ incident in a short span of time,” Shah said during his visit to Sahiwal.
The JIT members examined the crime spot to review every aspect of the incident. Members from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau have also been included in the team.
According to sources, no potential breakthrough could be achieved in the Sahiwal tragedy so far.
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Moreover, several critical evidences have been lost after clearance of the crime spot near Sahiwal where the incident took place. Besides, bullets and the car’s forensic tests could not be performed.
Authorities have recorded statements of concerned officers for compiling the report when eyewitnesses refused to record their statements at the police rest house.
The report has also collected evidence from the footages which were obtained by media and citizens.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has asked the general public to have patience and wait for an appropriate action after the JIT report.
On the other hand, names of officers involved in the incident have been made known.
The operation was led by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) sub-inspector Safdar Hussain while other officers include Ahsan Khan, Muhammad Ramzan, Saifullah and Husnain.
It is pertinent here to mention that the CTD officials had killed four people, including a couple and their teenage daughter, and injured a teenage boy in a suspicious ‘encounter’ on GT Road near Sahiwal.
The incident had triggered a nationwide outcry that prompted the government to take the security officials into custody and order an investigation into the incident.
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The suspects were identified as Shahid Jabbar and Abdul Rehman travelling towards Sahiwal and were reportedly in possession of arms and explosives, CTD stated.
The counter-terrorism officials claimed that the operation was conducted to capture an ‘Islamic State (IS) commander’ on a tip off by an intelligence agency.
