PAT replies to IGP’s letter, details ten reasons for not appearing before JIT

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) has sent a written reply to the letter of Inspector General of Police Punjab dated 28-01-15 regarding appearance before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). The letter written by PAT has detailed ten reasons behind its decision of not appearing before the JIT and becoming part of investigation.

It has been stated in the letter that the Punjab police on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister came with an intention to kill the family of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri and the JIT consisting of representatives of the accused police is partial and biased. The registration of fake cases even after the appointment of the present IGP is a reflection of this bias and partiality, it said.

The PAT letter said how it could join the investigation of JIT consisting of such police officers who refused to register an FIR on the complaint of affected families of martyrs and injured of Model Town; rather it registered fake FIR against PAT leaders. It not only registered the case but also submitted a fake challan to the anti-terrorism court and indulged in character assassination campaign against PAT leadership. The letter said as to why the government is afraid of constituting a JIT consisting of representatives of ISI and MI?

It further said that the first JIT constituted by the Punjab government with representation from ISI had also indicated at the hand of the government in bloodshed in Model Town and the report prepared by the JIT maintained that the trained snipers target-killed the PAT and MQI workers.

The letter said that had intention of the JIT established by the government been above board, it would have contacted the hundreds of incarcerated PAT workers and recorded their statements but it did not do so despite the fact that there was nothing to stop it from doing so. It said that Inspector Ishtiaq, nominated in case no. 696 of Model Town tragedy, was appointed SHO of another police station in Lahore and this appointment is against the orders of IGP himself. Had JIT been neutral and fair-minded, it would have taken notice of this appointment, the letter said.

The PAT letter further said that the police officers gave loud instructions to the police men at the scene that the orders of firing came from the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, and the Law Minister, urging them to continue the action without any fear. It stated categorically that it would appear before such JIT and get its statement recorded, which does not have any representative of Punjab police and which will be manned by representatives of ISI and MI.

Jawad Hamid, the complainant in Model Town case, sent the PAT letter to IGP on March 05 after consultations with the lawyers. He further said that the Punjab government has already accepted its crime by refusing to publish the reports of first JIT and Model Town judicial tribunal.