Sahiwal tragedy: 16 CTD men booked

LAHORE: The Yusufwala Police Station in Sahiwal on Sunday registered a case against 16 officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) -- an offshoot of the Punjab Police -- under murder and terrorism charges for shooting dead four persons, including a man, his wife, their teenage daughter and the driver.

The case was registered on the complaint of Mohammad Jalil, a brother of Khalil, who was among those shot dead by the CTD men.

The FIR was lodged under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. However, nobody has been nominated in the FIR as the names of those officials who took part in the operation had not been provided by the CTD. Ten officials in uniform and six in plainclothes carried out the operation. They intercepted the vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire, resulting in the death of four persons.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar announced on Sunday that strict action would be taken against those responsible for the Sahiwal tragedy and he himself would supervise the investigation process. He chaired a meeting at his office and reviewed developments in the incident.

While addressing the meeting, he said the Punjab government had formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for an impartial probe into the incident. He said an FIR in this regard had already been registered.

“Justice will not only be done but it also seen to be done to everyone and all requirements of justice provision will be fulfilled in the incident.” All aspects of the incident were discussed in the meeting and a report was also presented to the CM.

Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat, Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary Interior, Inspector General Police and other officers concerned attended the meeting. Later, Law Minister Raja Basharat announced financial compensation of Rs20 million for the victim family.

Talking to the media, he said no one involved in the heinous act would be spared and the decisions would be taken in accordance with the findings of the JIT, formed to probe the matter.

Providing details based on the CTD preliminary investigation, Raja Basharat told the media that the first fire was shot by driver Zeeshan, whereas eight grenades, two suicide jackets and weapons were also recovered from him.

The law minister said Zeeshan’s accomplices had also been gunned down Saturday night in Gujranwala. The media was also told that Zeeshan’s brother had also been recruited in the Dolphin Force recently. The law minister said the Sahiwal incident was very disturbing, adding the government would fulfil its responsibilities in this regard.

Raja Basharat said the Sahiwal operation was an intelligence-based operation, conducted by the law enforcement authorities on reliable secret information. He said there were strong shreds of pieces of evidence indicating that deceased Zeeshan hosted terrorists at his house.

"Zeeshan was affiliated with Daesh. We got the confirmation on Jan 18 that he works with the terror organisation," he said, "Had we not stopped the terrorists, there could have been devastation on large scale." The minister said that the committee would also ascertain relationship between the late Zeeshan and Khalil.

On the other hand, a CTD spokesman said the death of Khalil, his wife and daughter was a very unfortunate consequence of being at a wrong place and at a wrong time. The CTD personnel had earlier said they killed a local commander of the militant organisation, Daesh, and three others in crossfire. Eyewitnesses, however, refuted the claim and said the people in the car did not fire at officials, nor were any explosives recovered from the vehicle. In-charge CTD operation team, SI Safdar, claimed that the four people were killed by the firing of their own accomplices. The CTD Lahore had registered a case under sections 302, 324, 353 PPC and 7 ATA. The complainant, SI Safdar, further said that they had recovered two suicide vests, eight hand-grenades, two pistols and 30 bullets from a suitcase.

Umair, one of the children, received a bullet wound in his leg whereas his younger sister Muneeba was injured by a shattered glass of the car. The two children were being treated at Lahore's General Hospital while four-year-old Jaziba was discharged from the hospital and sent home.

The CTD officials involved in the killings were taken into custody on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. The CM gave directives for the arrest of the CTD personnel after Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the incident and ordered for a transparent probe into the killings.

Meanwhile, relatives of the victim family and locals ended their protest in Sahiwal after registration of an FIR on Sunday. They had staged a sit-in overnight at the GT Road by placing the bodies in the middle of the road. The protesters burnt tyres and chanted slogans against the Punjab Police and the Punjab government. The police handed over the bodies of four persons to their families after their autopsy. According to initial post-mortem findings, the driver Zeeshan received 10 bullets, children's father Khalil 13 wounds, his wife Nabeela Bibi sustained four wounds and his 13-year-old Areeba was shot six times.

As per a spokesman for the CTD, Zeeshan was a terrorist and his vehicle was being used by Daesh Network. He had given refuge to the network. The dangerous network was involved in several high-profile terrorist activities including killings and bombings. There was a threat alert that terrorists would attack office of an intelligence agency on Jan 20.

According to the CTD report, Zeeshan’s car had tinted glasses, while the people on rear seats were not visible. Zeeshan was set to take explosives to south Punjab and he needed a cover. "Zeeshan misused his position and gave the family a ride to Burewala. In fact, Zeeshan was carrying explosives of terrorists who were travelling on [the] motorcycle. After dropping the family in Burewala, Zeeshan had planned to drop explosives somewhere in Khanewal or Multan," the CTD said in the statement.

The Khalil family had apparently no knowledge of the vehicle being used by terrorists. Hence, they accepted the ride. This vehicle was under joint surveillance of the ISI and CTD. It was also being monitored by IC3 (Safe City) cameras. On Saturday, the Safe City staff spotted the vehicle going towards Sahiwal and informed the CTD and ISI. The CTD team in Sahiwal was deployed to intercept the vehicle near Sahiwal. When it was intercepted, it was accompanied by a motorcycle also with two riders. When intercepted, the driver Zeeshan and motorcycle riders opened fire at the CTD team. A shootout ensued and the driver was killed. Unfortunately, the Khalil family’s three members became victim of circumstances. The car had tinted glasses and passengers on the back seat were not visible. Only two male passengers on the front seat were visible. When the CTD team came under fire, a shootout was a natural consequence. It was very unfortunate that women and children were sitting on the backseat. The Safe City camera had only shown front seat travellers and they were males. Four video clips being played on the media were of the post-incident. No firing took place after the shootout, the report said.

It added that the CTD had offered lots of sacrifices for eliminating terrorists during the past years. In Sahiwal alone, one CTD officer was martyred by terrorists in 2017. One officer was critically injured in another attack in 2016. In spite of this, the CTD officers are fighting against terrorism. Their sacrifices may not be forgotten, added the report.

Let the JIT complete its investigation. If any mala fide is proved against any official, he may be punished. But before that, the media trial may be avoided, the spokesman added.

The CTD said when the news of the incident was aired on TV, there were terrorists hiding in Zeeshan's house, who saw the news and fled the house. They were, however, spotted by intelligence surveillance.

The Punjab government rejected the IGP’s JIT and reconstituted a new JIT. Additional IG Establishment Punjab will be the convener and one each representative from the ISI and the IB will be part of the JIT. The team would submit its report after investigation within three days.

Meanwhile, Lahore’s Ferozepur Road was blocked for a few hours by people protesting against the incident. The protesters termed the killing of four people cold-blooded murder by the CTD. The protesters blocked the roads and burnt tyres in protest.Meanwhile, Namaz-e-Janaza of two men, a woman and a 13-year-old girl was offered near Shanghai bridge Ferozpur Road on Sunday night.

The Namaz-e-Janaza was attended by a large number of people. Zeeshan, who was dubbed as terrorist by the CTD, will be buried in the Ashiana Housing Scheme and Khalil, his wife Nabeela and daughter were laid to rest at Shehr-e-Khamoshan, Kahna.

The family members, relatives, friends and locals staged a sit-in on the Ferozpur Road after the Namaz-e-Janaza of the deceased Zeeshan. The protesters said that they would continue their protest unless the Law Minister Raja Busharat either tendered an apology for labelling Zeeshan as a terrorist or resigned from his office. Zeeshan's brother Ahtesham said his brother dealt in laptop business and was survived by a daughter and a widow.