Punjab govt ordered to make public judicial report on Model Town incident

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court ordered the Punjab government on Thursday to make public the judicial inquiry report into the Model Town killings.

The order was read out by Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi while hearing a petition by the families of those injured in the 2014 clashes with police in Lahore to make the inquiry report public. 

Later, sources said the government decided to file an intra-court appeal as the judicial report contains matters of national importance that cannot be disclosed at the moment.

According to the government’s legal officials, who requested anonymity, the appeal will be filed once the detailed verdict of today’s order is handed out. 

Earlier, it was reported that a full bench of court will hear all the petitions on the Model Town tragedy on September 25. 

A three-member bench of LHC headed by interim Chief Justice Yawar Ali will hear the different cases demanding the Model Town judicial report to be made public.

The petitions have been filed by the families of victims killed in Model Town during an ‘anti-encroachment’ operation conducted by police against the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) headquarters. At least 14 people were killed and 100 others injured in the police action.

PAT chief Tahirul Qadri has continuously demanded that the Justice Baqir Najfi Commission report on the Model Town incident be made public, asking what Shehbaz Sharif is afraid of if he is not responsible for the tragedy.

Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been held responsible for the incident in the report which is why he hasn’t made it public even after three years, Qadri said while addressing a sit-in held in remembrance of the 2014 incident, in which 14 PAT workers were killed and scores injured.

“The thief has been caught. The murderer behind the Model Town incident is still at large,” he said in an apparent reference to the Sharif brothers.

Qadri also said that his organisation will go to any extent for getting justice for the victims of the Model Town tragedy.

Lashing out at the Sharif brothers, Qadri said that their party introduced dirty and corrupt politics in the country, and claimed Pakistan Muslim Lague-Nawaz routinely purchases MPAs and ministries.

The PAT chief said that Nawaz Sharif talks about the sanctity of votes while he himself played a role in ousting Pakistan Peoples Party government in the ‘90s.

Report cannot be made public: Rana Sanaullah

Law Minister Punjab Rana Sanullah, however, talking to Geo News earlier that day, said the case is still being heard by the court and the report cannot be made public till then. If the court deems fit it can make the report public, he added.

Sanaullah said that lawyers representing PAT had themselves challenged the constitution of the commission, adding that Qadri is using the incident for political means.