Sahiwal incident: PPP leader for punishment to responsible

PESHAWAR: Member of the central executive committee of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Rahimdad Khan on Monday termed the killing of four people by Counter-Terrorism Department of the Punjab Police as state terrorism and demanded strict action against those involved in the shooting.

He was talking to reporters after a luncheon for the newly elected office-bearers of the Peshawar Press Club. The senior politician said that all those killed were unarmed and were travelling along with family members.

Rahimdad Khan said the names of the CTD officials involved in the incident should be brought to the fore. He demanded a strict punishment to the responsible people according to the law of the land and justice to the heirs of the deceased.

The PPP leader criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and said that foreign investors were reluctant to invest in Pakistan due to what he believed were flawed policies of the rulers.

He said the PPP was not opposed to the accountability process but that should be across the board. "The rulers should have started it from the sister of Prime Minister Imran Khan, instead of making tall claims and implicating the opposition leaders in false cases," he said.

Rahimdad Khan said the accountability should be initiated from Banigala by holding investigations as to how the prime minister's sister Aleema Khan purchased properties abroad. He said that increase in taxes had caused a price hike and made life miserable for people.