LAHORE, Pakistan: The Punjab government has decided to file an Intra- Court appeal against Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdict, ordering making public the judicial inquiry report of Model Town incident.
Earlier in the day, the LHC judge Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi ordered the Secretary Punjab government to unveil the inquiry report of Model Town Massacre prepared by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, saying that justice should be done.
However, the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif summoned an important meeting, and decided to challenge the LHC’s verdict to make judicial inquiry report public.
Sources said that the Punjab government will file an intra-court appeal after receiving the written copy of LHC’s verdict.
While addressing a Press Conference in Lahore following the LHC’s verdict, the PAT Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said Model Town incident was the most brutal massacre of the history. He said Court’s decision was a step towards justice.
Tahirul Qadri said after the incident, the affectees were pressurized and terrorized.
The PAT Chief said according to their estimate, 27 persons were killed in the incident and around 100 injured in Model Town. He said the Court ordered the government to make inquiry report public.
It is pertinent here that the Punjab police launched an anti-encroachment drive outside the PAT Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri in Model Town area of Lahore on June 17, 2014. However as the PAT workers resisted, police opened fire on them which resulted in deaths of 14 PAT workers in injuries to nearly 100 others.
Later a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the Punjab conducted a probe into the Model Town killings but in its report declared the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah not guilty. However, PAT rejected the JIT’s report.
On the other hand, a judicial inquiry led by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi was also carried out into the incident. But the inquiry report was not never made public.
