JIT appears before CM: PAT

• CM’s statement is confession that he came to know of the incident at 9am, while killings took place after 10am

LAHORE: [2015-03-15] Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, the Secretary General of Pakistan Awami Tehreek, has said it was not the Punjab Chief Minister who appeared before the Joint Investigation Team, rather it was the opposite and the JIT went and gave an audience before the chief minister. And the other fact is that the CM has said on record that he came to know of the incident after 9 am, when all the killings took place after 10am. He said if the CM Punjab ordered the police to back out than why did it not and has the person’s punished. Who disobeyed the cm’s orders? if not than why?

Khurram Nawaz Gandapur was speaking to newsmen after the news that the CM had recorded his statement before the JIT. Gandapur said that the incident turned ugly only after it came into the notice of the CM that PAT workers were protesting against the clearing of barriers. He said that is when the CM instructed his blue-eyed officer Dr. Tauqeer Shah to ensure that the issue is settled with the help of police. He said that this statement is itself is his confession and and acceptance of the crime committed on his behalf. He said that this statement also confirms the strong links between the CM and Tauqeer Shah. So the making of Tauqeer Shah an Pakistani Ambassador at World Trade Organization was only to reward him for carrying out his (CM’s) order in befitting manner that reflects the mindset of the Sharifs’.

Gandapur said that the real fact will only be revealed after an independent inquiry that did the CM order the police to back out or to fire directly on the protesters? Gandapur said that at present the JIT has no legal or moral value as it was not formed according to the wishes of the families of those killed in the incident and free, fair and independent inquiry and justice cannot be expected from it.

He said how can we accept such an inquiry body which has been formed by and according to the wishes of the murderers themselves. He said this JIT has served tea to the CM and went upto his car to see him of. He said in Punjab every murderer is given protocol when he come to record his statement before a court and so was the CM given protocol.

Gandapur said that this drama of a fake investigation team will not last for long and in the end the hangman’s rope will be seen on the necks of these brutal killers. He said if the JIT was sincere in doing its job it should have gone to the jails and hospitals to record the statements of those who were injured or were in the custody of the police. He questioned that who had stopped the JIT from getting the statements of these people?

He said during the Islamabad sit-in the government had suggested a few name for the head of the JIT and we had agree to the name of Shahid Hayat, but the very next day this news was printed in newspapers that the PM did not approve of his name as he was a Pathan and Gandapur is also a Pathan. He said is this the criteria the PM follows and does not even consider honesty to be best policy?

Concluding Gandapur said that we do not expect justice from this Punjab government which is not ready to provide us a copy of the JIT report.