News Desk |
The Leader of Opposition in National Assembly and PML-N Chief Mian Shahbaz Sharif appeared before the Model Town incident Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Monday, 18th March to submit his statement.
The Joint Investigation team had dismissed a request of Shahbaz Sharif seeking to record his statement without having to present himself before the team and summoned him in person. The opposition leader will record his statement to the JIT over the allegations about the Model Town incident over the course of the probe. The team will also visit Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore to record the statement of former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, who was the premier in 2014 when the massacre took place and is, by default, one of the accused.
According to media reports, senior PML-N leaders and former office holders Pervez Rasheed, Khawaja Asif, and Rana Sanaullah had already appeared before the investigation team of Model Town massacre to record their statements.
The investigation team had earlier been headed by Inspector General (IG) Motorways AD Khawaja, read a notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary Home Fazeel Asghar.
According to sources, the JIT has recorded statements of 85 witnesses, while 90 officials of the police department also appeared before the JIT and recorded their statements over the incident.
In January 2019, the Home Department of Punjab on had constituted a new joint investigation team (JIT) for probing 2014 Model Town massacre. The investigation team had earlier been headed by Inspector General (IG) Motorways AD Khawaja, read a notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary Home Fazeel Asghar.
The JIT comprised of representative of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Colonel Mohammad Attique-uz-Zaman, Military Intelligence (MI) Lt Colonel Irfan Mirza, Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau (IB) Mohammad Ahmed Kamal, and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Headquarters Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Raza.
Read more: Sharifs in trouble as SC orders JIT formation in Model Town…
Later on, a commission was made under the supervision of a LHC serving judge. The commission submitted its report but the PML-N led government did not publish it.
On December 5, 2018, the Supreme Court had ordered the Punjab government to form a new joint investigation team (JIT) in the Model Town case after the five-member bench headed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a petition filed by Bisma Amjad, the daughter of Tanzila Amjad who was among those who got killed in the incident, for the formation of a new JIT in the Model Town case. Interestingly, Justice Asif Saeed, later CJP, remarked that after the indictment of former Punjab IGP Mushtaq Sukera in the case, all statements had to be recorded again.