Sahiwal tragedy: Opposition dissatisfied with PA briefing, demands judicial commission

LAHORE: Opposition has expressed dissatisfaction over the briefing given in the Punjab Assembly on Sahiwal killings and demanded formation of a judicial commission to further probe the incident which claimed lives of four citizens.

Hamza Shehbaz said that the culprits behind the Sahiwal killings will be found out through the judicial commission, calling the Joint Investigation Team ‘a waste of time’.

“The nation is anxious to find out what is happening… The seriousness of the government can be judged from the fact that the chief minister was not present in the Punjab Assembly session,” he said.

The Opposition leader’s political heir said that the Sahiwal issue should not become a hostage to politics.

“The day Model Town tragedy happened, Rana Sanaullah resigned from his post,” said Hamza Shehbaz.

Earlier in a Punjab Assembly session, Home Secretary Punjab Fazeel Asghar provided 'evidence' of deceased Zeeshan's involvement in terror activities.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan summoned Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to discuss the alleged Sahiwal encounter. According to sources, the premier has sought details from the chief minister over the incident and will discuss the initial report submitted by a joint investigation team probing the killings.

On January 19, four people — including three members of a family — were killed in an alleged encounter in Sahiwal. Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel said they had killed a local commander of militant organisation Daesh and three others in the operation. Eyewitnesses, however, disputed the claim and said the people in the car did not fire at officials, nor were any explosives recovered from the vehicle.