close
Tuesday March 19, 2024

Model Town tragedy: SC issues notices to Nawaz, Shahbaz, 137 others

By Amir Riaz
November 18, 2018

LAHORE: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued notices to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, opposition leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and 137 others on a petition, seeking formation of a new joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the 2014 Model Town carnage.

Bisma Amjad, the daughter of Ms Tanzila Amjad, who was killed on June 17, 2014 in the Model Town police action, had submitted an application to the chief justice, seeking formation of a new JIT to probe the killing of innocent workers of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Idara Minhajul Quran in 2014.

The other parliamentarians and bureaucrats nominated as accused by the PAT include Punjab opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz, former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, former railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, former defence minister Khwaja Asif, former information minister Pervaiz 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.

The accused police officers include former IGP Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, former DIG Operations Lahore Rana Abdul Jabbar and then SP Security Salman Ali Khan.

A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, will hear the application on Nov 19.

The court would decide a legal point whether a new JIT could be formed at this stage of the case.

On Sept 26, a three-judge bench of the Lahore High Court, with a majority decision by 2 to 1, had dismissed two criminal revision appeals challenging a trial court’s decision on a private complaint by the PAT to the extent of non-summoning of 12 accused, including PML-N leaders and bureaucrats.

At least 14 persons were killed and over 100 injured during an ‘anti-encroachment’ operation outside the Model Town residence of PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on June 17, 2014. Jawad Hamid of PAT had filed the private complaint before the trial court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of a suo motu case pertaining to the misbehaviour of a minister of the Gilgit-Baltistan government with the airport staff, due to absence of the minister.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, took up the case at the Lahore Registry regarding the alleged misbehaviour of GB Minister for Tourism Fida Hussain with the staff of the Islamabad airport.

As the hearing began, the court was informed that the minister was out of country and would return on Nov 29.

Upon this, the chief justice remarked that the court would hear the case in Islamabad when Fida Khan would return. The court adjourned the hearing till Dec 3.