LHC summons Punjab IG over Sahiwal CTD ‘encounter’

The Lahore High Court (LHC) summoned on Tuesday Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi in a case pertaining to the Sahiwal police 'encounter'.

The hearing was headed by LHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Shamim Ahmed. The LHC has directed the Punjab IG to appear before the court on January 24, local media reported.

On January 19, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) killed at least four persons, who the officials claimed were terrorists. According to the CTD officials, they had signaled the car near Sahiwal Toll Plaza to stop but the occupants of the car started firing after which the officials retaliated.

However, their statements contradict witnesses’ statement and also the statements of the children who survived the attack. The four people who were killed were identified as Khalil, Nabeela, their teenage daughter Areeba and their neighbor Zeeshan.

The witnesses claim that the occupants of the car did not fire. The three children of the parents survived the attack and said that they were going to a wedding and the CTD fired out of nowhere. Following this, a Joint Investigation Team was formed by Punjab Police IG.