Model Town case: LHC rejects petition to summon Sharif brothers, former ministers

Model Town case: LHC rejects petition to summon Sharif brothers, former ministers

Lahore (Staff Report): The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday rejected a petition to summon Sharif brothers in the Model Town case.

A three-member bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed a petition filed by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Jawad Hamid to summon former premier Nawaz Sharif, former chief minister Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif and others in the case of Model Town killings.

The petitioner had requested the court to summon twelve individuals including former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah and Khawaja Saad Rafique.

Furthermore, Former Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab, Mushtaq Sujkhera was directed to appear before the court.

In April, an Anti-terrorism Court (AC) on Thursday indicted at least 115 suspects, including top officials of police and city administration in Model Town incident.

Accused, including DIG and other officials of the government, have been charge sheeted by the court.

The development comes after Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar took notice of the delay in providing justice to the families of the victims.

In 2014, around 14 people were killed and 85 others injured during a clash between the police and the PAT workers in 2014 in Model Town over the removal of barriers placed around the Minhaj-ul-Quran Secretariat.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Minhajul Quran had filed a private complaint in the court seeking trial of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, federal ministers Saad Rafique and Khawaja Asif and others, accusing them of ‘killing’ innocent party workers.

However, the anti-terrorism court had, partially accepting the plea, excluded premier, chief minister, provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah and eight other MNAs from the trial.