ATC acquits all suspects in Sahiwal killings case

By News Desk

LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday acquitted all accused in Sahiwal killings case by giving them the benefit of doubt.

Accused Safdar Hussain, Ahsan Khan, Ramzan, Saifullah, Husnain and Nasir Nawaz were produced before ATC-I judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta. The court announced the verdict after hearing arguments of the parties and examining available evidence.

The court held that the injured witnesses — victim Khalil’s children — failed to identify the accused that could also not be identified in photogrammetric test. The in-charge ammunition had testified that the accused returned their weapons and rounds, it added.

The court recorded statements of 49 witnesses, including victim Zeeshan’s brother Ehtisham, Khalil’s children Umair and Muniba, and his brother Jalil.

On January 19, four people — Khalil, his wife Nabila, their teenage daughter Areeba and friend Zeeshan Javed — were killed in an alleged shootout in Sahiwal, with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel claiming they had killed a local commander of a militant organisation 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.

A Joint Investigation Team formed to probe the killings in its final report submitted last month said the slain family members were innocent and they were wrongly murdered. The report also recommended strict action against the CTD officials who allegedly made changes in the record.

Initially, the trial was conducted in Sahiwal but the Lahore High Court ordered the transfer of the case from Sahiwal to Lahore while allowing a petition filed by Jalil. The petitioner contended that they had been facing problems while attending trial proceedings in Sahiwal. —APP/News Desk