Verdict on two PAT pleas in Model Town case today

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court full bench will announce its verdict on Wednesday (today) on two different appeals challenging a trial court’s decision on a private complaint of Pakistan Awami Tehreek/Idara Minhajul Quran pertaining to 2014 Model Town incident.

The PAT in its appeal had challenged the decision of an anti-terrorism court to the extent of not summoning twelve persons (all former parliamentarians of PML-N) nominated as accused by the party in its private complaint.

While former inspector general Punjab Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera and 127 other government officials had challenged the decision to the effect of their summoning by the trial court in the complaint moved by the PAT.

The bench headed by Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan had reserved the verdict on June 27 after Prosecutor General Punjab Ehtesham Qadir and lawyers of appellants had concluded their arguments. Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem were the other members of the bench.

The prosecutor general had stated in his arguments that the trial court indicted the suspects involved in the Model Town incident and recording of evidence was in process. He said the evidence recorded by the judicial inquiry tribunal could not be used before any other forum for civil or criminal proceedings.

He was of the view that the appellant/PAT failed to establish its charges against the twelve respondents including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif before the trial court. He rejected an argument of the PAT that the incident was a pre-planned or a conspiracy.

The twelve parliamentarians, most of them are now former, against whom the ATC had rejected the complaint include former premier minister Nawaz Sharif, former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, now Punjab opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz, former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, former railway’s minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, former defence minister Khwaja Asif, former information minister Pervez Rashid, former state minister Abid Sher Ali, former interior minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan, then personal secretary to chief minister Syed Tauqir Shah, former home minister Azam Suleman and then Lahore Commissioner Rashid Mahmood Langrial.