Sahiwal killings: Child Umair, deceased Khalil’s two brothers record statements to JIT

LAHORE: One of the surviving siblings of victim Khalil’s family Friday recorded his statement before the joint investigation team (JIT) head Ijaz Shah, in the Sahiwal killings case.

Umair, the son of Khalil, stated that he, along with his parents, sisters Areeba, Muniba and Hadia, had left his home at 8am in a car with ‘uncle’ Zeeshan. As they reached near Qadirpur, someone fired at their vehicle from behind. As a result, their car collided with the roadside fence and stopped. In the meantime, a policeman with a covered-face opened fire at driver Zeeshan and killed him. Meanwhile, added Umair, two police pickups also reached the scene. His father appealed to the policemen not to kill them. “They can take everything from them to let them go,” Khalil told the police, as stated by Umair. However, one of the policemen, talked to someone on phone. As the call ended, he ordered the other policemen to kill them, he added. Then the police opened fire for the second time in which his parents and Areeba were killed. During firing, his father had hidden Muniba in his lap, while his mother hid him and Hadia. Umair further stated that no one from inside the car had opened fire. He also denied firing by any motorcyclist. Umair said there was no explosive material in their car and declared the statement of CTD men as fabricated. He said the number of policemen who came there was more than five, and they were in contact with some officer by telephone during the process. As the firing stopped, the police brought them out of the car and once again opened fire at the car. The cops took them in a police van and left them at a deserted place. Some unknown persons picked them up and left them at a petrol pump. The policemen reached the petrol pump again and took them to a hospital as he and Muniba were crying due to the bullet injuries. The JIT also recorded the statements of Jalil and Jamil, the brothers of Khalil, and two of their relatives for the first time. They stated that they had informed Sahiwal police and Rescue-1122 about the firing incident. As they could not find children, they also talked to Police Help Line 15 operator in harsh words. Later, Rescue 1122 told them that the children were in a hospital. Jalil said that on seeing the bodies, they got confirmed about the death of four people including his brother and his family.