Five cops including suspended SHO indicted

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday framed charges against 46 persons, including five police officials, in the first FIR registered in the 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 the said persons, had summoned prosecution witnesses by October 28. Previously, the police had submitted a challan in this case in July 2014 and the court had indicted the accused in the case after 15 months of the 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 the police which forced them to attack in retaliation.
The suspended SHO, Faisal Town, was also among the nominated accused. However, the court has not framed charges against Raheeq Abbasi and Khurram Nawaz Gandapur as they were declared proclaimed offenders in the case.
Earlier, on February 25, 2015, ATC judge Rai Ayub Khan Marth had declared the PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri and both his sons proclaimed offenders in the cases registered against them regarding the 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 the Faisal Town Police Station in connection with the Model Town incident under sections 302/34, 324, 353, 148,149, 290, 291 of the 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 the PAT in that case which had sought registration of a murder case against the 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.
Online adds: The accused police officials have pleaded not guilty and the court has summoned witnesses of the case on the next hearing.