Model Town Case: Court proceedings on private complaint get underway

Complainant Jawad Hamid starts recording his statement the third time

Since the decision on the future of the JIT formed for a fair and impartial investigation into the Model Town tragedy has not been made, Judge Iqbal Chadhar of the anti-terrorism court has ordered the complainant Jawad Hamid to record his statement. In compliance with the court order, Jawad Hamid has started recording his statement the third time in the anti-terrorism court. Model Town case continues to stand where it started five years ago.

In his initial statement before the court, Jawad Hamid said that the barriers for removal of which the police came to Model Town during the intervening night of the 16th and 17th of June, 2014 were placed by the Model Town police itself on the orders of the Lahore High Court. He said that the Model Town police officials were guarding the barriers for which the operation was carried out and as soon as the operation got underway, they fled the scene.

Jawad Hamid further stated that the Sharif brothers considered Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri a political threat. They neither wanted him to come to Pakistan nor launch any movement against their government. He said that it was with an aim to stop him from coming to the country that the blood of the innocent people was shed. He said that soon after Dr Qadri’s announcement of returning to the country, the serious threats of teaching him a lesson hurled by the ministers including Rana Sanaullah and Khawaja Saad Rafique prove that the Model Town tragedy was the result of careful planning at the highest level. Jawad Hamid will record his further statement on the 17th of May.

Meanwhile PAT legal team including Anwar Akhtar Advocate, Naeem-ud-Din Chaudhry Advocate, Sardar Ghazanfar Hussain Advocate, Shakeel Mumka Advocate and complainant Jawad Hamid said while talking to media outside the court that the Model Town case continues to stand where it was five years ago. They said that the Punjab government formed a new JIT on the direction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for a fair investigation into the Model Town tragedy and the JIT had finished 90% of its work. However, as it was finalizing its report, the Division Bench of the Lahore High Court suspended the notification of its formation and the new probe continues to face delays as of today and until the further orders.

The legal team further said that on the one hand, the work of the new JIT has been suspended, on the other the PAT workers who protested against the massacre were booked under FIR No. 510 and have been appearing before the courts. They have so far appeared for 340 times. Neither has justice been provided nor have the workers been rid of the appearances.

Jawad Hamid said that justice is still elusive as the families of the martyrs continue to wait endlessly but 107 of the PAT workers have been sentenced to jail terms by holding responsible for the tragedy. They are serving their terms in different jails but those who planned and executed the tragedy remain at large.