JIT records Nawaz’s statement in Model Town case

LAHORE: The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) conducting an inquiry into Model Town killings on Wednesday recorded the statement of former premier Nawaz Sharif after interrogating him in the Kot Lakhpat Jail.

According to sources, the JIT remained with Nawaz for two hours. During the inquiry, Nawaz said he respects judiciary. He answered all questions of JIT members and said the then federal and Punjab governments did not want Model Town killings, and it was the result of clashes between PAT workers and the police.

The questions which the JIT put to the ex-PM included: why he did not constitute an impartial JIT as PM, why the PML-N leadership allegedly threatened PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur and Altaf Shah after calling them for a meeting to send Dr Tahirul Qadri back to Canada, whether Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, law minister Rana Sanaullah, federal minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Abid Sher Ali and Pervaiz Rasheed were present in the meeting.

Nawaz was asked why he did not accept the PAT demand made at the Islamabad protest to constitute a JIT under the leadership of Police Officer Shahid Hayat, was it correct that the then federal minister Ahsan Iqbal had stated that the head of government was not agreed to forming a JIT under Shahid Hayat, why the team of ministers Nawaz sent for negotiations with the PAT leadership at the Islamabad sit-in did not succeed in resolving the dispute, why he did not intervene as prime minister in the matter of keeping secret the Justice Baqar Najfi inquiry commission report on Model Town killings, what were the reasons for posting IG Mushtaq Sukhera, what were the recommendations of the Punjab government for his posting, what were the reasons for transferring former IG Khan Baig and why the federal government accepted the recommendations for his transfer, what were the reasons for handing over the services of former DCO Capt Usman to the Punjab government within 24 hours.

The JIT is headed by Inspector General (IG) Motorways AD Khwaja and comprises Lt-Col Irfan Mirza from the Military Intelligence (MI), Lt-Col Muhammad Attiquzzaman from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Qamar Raza, DIG Police (Headquarters) Gilgit-Baltistan, and Muhammad Ahmed Kamal.