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Sahiwal incident: Punjab govt declares Zeeshan as terrorist

Sahiwal incident: Punjab govt declares Zeeshan as terrorist
January 20, 2019
LAHORE (92 News) – The Punjab government on Sunday declared that Zeeshan - who was killed in alleged Sahiwal encounter conducted by CTD - was working for proscribed organization Daesh and he opened fire on police party. Addressing a press conference in Lahore with ministers, Punjab Minister for Law Raja Basharat on Sunday said that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had carried out Sahiwal operation on concrete evidences and a Da’esh terrorist Zeeshan was killed resultantly. The minister said that according to the CTD, Zeeshan was working for proscribed organization Daesh and he opened fire on police party. He also said that the team that took part in the operation had been taken into custody and its supervisor had been suspended. Raja Basharat also said that a joint investigation team (JIT) tasked with probing the ‘Sahiwal encounter’ will present its findings to the Punjab government within three days, he said, adding that a first information report had been registered at the family’s request. The law minister also announced that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had announced a Rs20 million compensation for the family whose three members were killed during an alleged shootout in Shaiwal between CTD personnel and suspected terrorists in Qadirabad on Saturday. He said that the Punjab government will bear the expenses for the education of the surviving children till whatever stage they want to study, but also noted that financial support cannot be a replacement for such a huge loss. Raja Basharat said that that the terrorists travelled to Sahiwal on a Honda City car on January 13, adding that on January 18, it was confirmed that Zeeshan was working for terrorists. The provincial minister said that there could have been a huge disaster if the terrorists weren’t chased, adding that the CTD and ISI had jointly conducted the operation. “Zeeshan was killed in Sahiwal, while his accomplices have been killed in Gujranwala,” he said. To a question, the minister said that Zeeshan was a terrorist but the CTD had no intentions of killing Khalil and his family members. The law-enforcement agencies had recovered a suicide vest from Zeeshan’s car, while weapons and explosive material was also seized from his car. Earlier today, the first information report (FIR) against 16 unknown Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials has been lodged under terrorism and murder sections at the Yousafwala police station on Sunday. The FIR was lodged under 302 and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on behalf of Khaleel’s brother Jaleel. In the FIR, ten officials were in uniform and six without uniform. Earlier on saturday, four people, including two women, were killed by the CTD officials near toll plaza on Saturday. A child was also injured in the cross-fire, while two remained unhurt. The injured has been shifted to hospital. The local police have expressed their ignorance about the incident. The CTD spokesman claimed that a CTD team tried to stop a car and bike, but the car riders opened fire on them. Witnesses said that no resistance was shown from the car. They added that the security personnel opened fire on the car and killed four people. They said that the officials took away three children from the site. The injured child said that they were going to their relatives in Burewala. “My father requested the policemen to get money and not open the fire at them. My father’s friend called Molvi was accompanying us,” he said. Khalil’s brother said that they had been living in the area for 30 years. “My brother Khalil, his wife Nabeela and four children had gone to Burewala to attend a marriage ceremony. Khalil’s friend Zeeshan had gone with them as driver,” he said.
Sahiwal incident: swift action to be taken after JIT report: PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that as soon as the JIT report comes, swift action will be taken against those responsible for the Sahiwal incident.