PML-N leader Khawaja Asif on Monday strongly criticised law enforcement agencies over their alleged negligence and “inhumane” behaviour in the Sahiwal tragedy that had on Saturday claimed the lives of four persons, including a husband and wife and their teenage daughter.
“Those responsible for eliminating terrorism have themselves become terrorists,” Asif said while speaking on the matter at the floor of National Assembly.
The former defence minister criticised the incumbent government and accused it of adopting “double standards” over the issue.
“The Government of Punjab has become a party in the [Sahiwal encounter] matter,” he said, demanding that the government constitute an empowered parliamentary committee to probe the incident.
“Similar [terrorism] cases should be registered against them [the CTD personnel involved] and they should be treated in the way terrorists are treated,” the PML-N leader said.
“I have said this before as well: If Rao Anwar had been held accountable for the blood he shed, perhaps today police officers would be fearful [of the consequences of their actions],” Asif said.
Responding to the criticism, Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari reminded the opposition of the Model Town tragedy, which had claimed 14 lives during the PML-N’s tenure in Punjab.
She told the opposition they had every right to criticise the government’s performance on the matter, but urged them to refrain from issuing false statements.
“The prime minister never condoned the actions of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) [in this case], as has been alleged,” she explained. “He said that the CTD had done good work against terrorism in the past, but that in this case it had acted irresponsibly.”
She also recalled that the PML-N had been in power when Rao Anwar’s involvement in Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial murder had surfaced.
“Asif was the defence minister back then, why did he not take action?” she asked. “Why didn’t those responsible for the Model Town tragedy also get punished? Let’s avoid politicking on the blood of innocent civilians.”
Holding the PML-N responsible for the rogue behaviour of the provincial police, she said the incumbent government had inherited the systems created by previous regimes.
“There is a dire need to restructure the police in Sindh and Punjab. Till reforms are not implemented, the issue will not be resolved,” Mazari said.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif had called for the suspension of regular proceedings in the lower house so a debate could be held on the Sahiwal tragedy.
He had warned that till the government does not reveal the facts of the case before the nation, the opposition parties would not let them proceed with the regular business of the National Assembly.
“The worst brutality has taken place in Sahiwal. A house committee should be made to review the JIT report on the incident,” he suggested.
His request to suspend regular proceedings was accepted, following which lawmakers from the opposition and treasury benches exchanged allegations over who was responsible for the law enforcement agencies’ actions while equally condemning the loss of innocent lives.
