ISLAMABAD, December 5: Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday disposed of Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) plea seeking formation of new joint investigation team (JIT) to probe Model Town carnage and directed the provincial government to reconstitute the team.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Azmat Saeed, Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Mazhar Alam Mian heard the case.
During the proceedings, PAT chief broke into tears and said that the victims of Model Town incident are waiting for the justice from past four years. The previous Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was formed without taking us into confidence, he added.
Meanwhile, the Punjab advocate general said that the government is not having any issue over establishment of new JIT over which, the court wrapped up the plea and ordered to form new team for the investigation.
SC had issued notices to 146 persons including former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, former Punjab CM and party president Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in case pertaining to formation of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in Model Town carnage case.
Earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) had turned down PAT plea seeking summons of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Shahbaz Sharif and ten other ministers in the case.
PAT, in its appeal against the ruling of the trial court, had requested LHC to call former ministers Khawaja Saad Rafique, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Asif and others in the case.
Police sources had revealed that former Punjab law minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah was the mastermind of the carnage. Sanaullah had directed to launch operation against the Model Town protesters despite opposition from the then home secretary Azam Suleman, they added.
On June 17, 2014, Punjab police went to remove the barriers placed outside PAT Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri’s residence and MQI Secretariat in Model Town. The MQI workers resisted the move which led to a deadly clash leaving 14 workers dead and dozens injured. -DNA
