Model Town report: Punjab govt. submits intra-court appeal against LHC’s order

Model Town report: Punjab govt. submits intra-court appeal against LHC’s order

Lahore (Staff Report): The Punjab government filed an intra-court appeal in the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Friday, against the decision of a single bench which ordered the government to release the judicial enquiry report of the Model Town incident.

According to details, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed the filing of the appeal on Friday.

“As the matter is under review by a full bench of the high court, the decision of the single bench should be dismissed,” the appeal states.

LHC Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi ordered the Punjab government, on Thursday, to release the enquiry report into the June 17, 2014 incident which had resulted in the killing of at least 14 Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers in clashes with police outside the Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town.

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

According to earlier reports, a full bench of the court will hear all the petitions on the Model Town tragedy on September 25.

The LHC’s three-member bench, 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 PAT headquarters.