LHC orders PM Khan to submit comments on Sahiwal probe report

A two-member bench of Lahore High Court on Monday ordered the federal government's counsel to present Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement on the Sahiwal tragedy in court on Thursday. (Photo courtesy: lhc.gov.pk)

• Says authority to form a judicial commission rests solely with the government
• Federal government’s counsel has been ordered to present premier’s comments in court on Thursday

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday ordered the federal government to submit Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments on the Sahiwal tragedy by Thursday, following the findings of a team probing the incident.
“The authority to form a judicial commission to investigate the Sahiwal tragedy rests solely with the government,” a two-member bench, led by LHC Chief Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed Khan, said during the hearing of a joint petition against the Sahiwal Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
“The decision to initiate a judicial inquiry cannot be taken by the courts,” Justice Khan said.
During the hearing, Justice Khan also reprimanded the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head, Aijaz Shah, for failing to present the report’s findings in court.
Chastising the investigation team for its failure to follow court orders, Justice Khan said: “The Sahiwal tragedy probe is a case of particular significance!”
The court then ordered the investigative team to present all records at the earliest.
It may be recalled that members of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed four people, including a teenage girl and her parents, near Sahiwal on January 19. The CTD authorities labeled the victims of the shooting as terrorists, though ultimately a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was set up to look into the issue and ascertain the facts of the case.
The victims’ family, however, remained skeptical about the workings of the JIT and sought a judicial commission to investigate the tragedy.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday appeared more open to the idea of constituting such commission during his daylong visit to Lahore, though the information minister of the province, Fayazul Hasan Chohan, still remained reticent to admit that a judicial probe into the matter was warranted during his interaction with the media.