Sahiwal killings: CTD officials deny firing at car

Ag Agencies

LAHORE: Officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), who have been under arrest for allegedly killing four people in Sahiwal on Jan 19, on Thursday denied firing shots at the car.

According to sources, a joint investigation team (JIT) probing the case investigated four CTD officials, Safdar, Ramzan, Saifullah and Hasnain. Khalil, a resident of Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat area, along with his wife Nabeela and teenage daughter Areeba were killed in a shady encounter involving the CTD of Punjab Police on a highway in Qadirabad area of Sahiwal district last week.

When asked by the JIT members as to who fired at the car, the CTD officials denied that they opened fire first. The JIT members then asked how the four people, sitting in the car, were killed. The officials said, "They were killed in firing by their accomplices on motorcycles."

Sources said the JIT members questioned the officials regarding who gave the orders to fire at the people in the car, and they once again denied to have opened fire first. "Nobody ordered us; we only fired in retaliation," the officials added.

Meanwhile, Khalil's family has shown lack of confidence in the JIT, due to which the identification parade of the suspects was delayed and the witnesses did not appear. A day ago, Khalil's brother Jalil had showed lack of confidence in the JIT.

On Jan 31, Jalil refused to appear before the JIT for identification parade of CTD officials. The identification parade was put off for the third time after the main complainant in the case didn’t turn up. The JIT would now inform the relevant judicial magistrate in this regard.

On Jan 30, Jalil had appeared before the JIT but refused to be part of the identification parade. Accusing the JIT of destroying evidence in the case, Jalil said: “How can the identification parade be conducted until all the accused were arrested?”

He said the police and JIT knew who the killers of the Sahiwal victims were. The JIT was harassing eyewitnesses and destroying evidence. Jalil had demanded transfer of the case to Lahore. Why should we come to Sahiwal for identification of the accused? We have demanded constitution of a judicial commission.