41 PAT workers, five cops indicted for Minhaj tragedy

LAHORE
An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday framed charges against 46 persons, including five police officials in the first FIR registered in Model Town incident in which 14 people had lost their lives and 100 others were severely injured.
The court has indicted 41 Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers and five police officials, including former SHO of Faisal Town Police Station Amir Saleem, Assistant Sub-Inspector Azhar Mahmood, constable Naveed and others.
The court after indicting said persons has summoned prosecution witnesses by October 28.
Previously, police had submitted challan in this case in July 2014 and the court has indicted accused in case after 15 months of submission of challan. The police had nominated PAT leaders namely Raheeq Abbasi and Khurram Nawaz Gandapur and stated that the PAT workers first opened fire on police which forced them to attack in retaliation. Then SHO Faisal Town was also among nominated accused. However, the court has not framed charges against Raheeq Abbasi and Khurram Nawaz Gandapur as they were declared proclaimed offenders in this case.
Earlier, on February 25, 2015, ATC judge Rai Ayub Khan Marth had declared PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri and his both sons proclaimed offenders in the cases registered against them regarding Model Town incident on the charges of inciting violence against the state and attacking police officials. The court had declared Dr Tahirul Qadri, Hassan Mohiyuddin and Hussain Mohiyuddin (both sons of Qadri), PAT President Raheeq Abbasi, Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, Sh Fayyaz and Shabbir Fayyaz proclaimed offenders. The accused were nominated in three different FIRs - 661, 662 and 663/14 - registered with Faisal Town Police Station in connection with the Model Town incident under Sections 302/34, 324, 353, 148,149, 290, 291 of Pakistan Penal Code and 7-Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
It is pertinent to mention here that a local court had also ordered the police to register a murder case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and 19 others on charges of killing 14 persons in police firing at the Minhajul Quran secretariat in Model Town.
The petitioner was PAT in that case which had sought registration of a murder case against prime minister, Punjab chief minister, interior minister, Member National Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Rana Abdul Jabbar, Model Town Superintendent Tariq Aziz, Superintendent (Headquarters) Maroof Safdar Wahla, Civil Lines Superintendent Umar Cheema, the security superintendent, the Model Town assistant commissioner, a town municipal officer, Kahna SHO Inspector Ishtiaq and Nishtar Town SHO Ahmad Majeed Usman.
fee case: The Lahore High Court Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza on Tuesday issued notices to government and private schools after observing that the court had stopped the Punjab government from taking coercive measures against private schools and not from implementing the law (Punjab Private Educational Institutions and Regulations (Amendment) Ordinance 2015).
The judge observed this while hearing a petition filed by Civil Society Network challenging a stay order issued in favour of the private schools against implementation of the law on their fee structure. The counsel told the court that the private schools were not following the law and taking undue shelter behind the stay order by misinterpreting it. He pointed out that the schools were not decreasing the fees as received till 2014.
Justice Mirza observed that the court had not granted stay to the private schools against the decreasing the fee but against the coercive measures allegedly taken by the government, including cancellation of their registration.
The judge also issued notices to government and private schools on the petition for November 5.