Five years on, children of Sahiwal killing victims await justice

Five years ago, an unsettling event occurred in Sahiwal on January 19, 2019 -where six family members, a husband, wife, and four children - along with their friend, lost their lives in what police officials labelled as a shootout with "terrorists” on a highway in Punjab.

The suspects, identified as Safdar Hussain, Ahsan Khan, Ramzan, Saifullah, Hasnain and Nasir Nawaz, had shot dead a couple, Khalil and Nabeela, their daughter Areeba, and another man named Zeeshan.

Khalil and Nabeela's other three minor children - Umair, Muniba and Jaziba - survived the shooting.

Despite the involvement of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the establishment of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), comprising intelligence officials, the resolution to this unfortunate tragedy remains elusive to date.

The suspects implicated in this brutal incident continue to remain free, as eyewitnesses and the complainants retracted their statements in the court against the accused, six officials of the Punjab Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).

On January 19, Khalil, accompanied by three family members and friend Zeeshan was travelling from Lahore to a village near Burewala to attend a wedding. Near the Sahiwal Toll Plaza, CTD Shaiwal officials signalled a car and a motorcycle to stop.

According to the officials, "The [alleged] terrorists retaliated by firing at the CTD officials following which a shootout ensued."

Contrary to these claims eyewitnesses and JIT report refuted the claims presented by CTD officials, maintaining that the firing by the cops was unprovoked.

The deceased, identified by relatives as residents of the Kot Lakhpat area in the suburbs of Lahore, included grocery store owner Mohammad Khalil (42), his wife Nabila (38), their 13-year-old daughter Areeba, and their friend Zeeshan Javed, who was driving the car and was reportedly on the country's terrorist list according to the police.

“The CTD officials took action against the suspects on a tip-off from an alleged terrorist who had been arrested by the intelligence agencies in Karachi,” the then Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said.

The Punjab Inspector General (IG) announced the establishment of a joint investigation team (JIT), comprised of intelligence agency officials, within a three-day timeframe to examine the incident.

The Yousafwala police registered the first information report based on a complaint from Jalil, the brother of the deceased Khalil, under sections 302, 324, 337 (F1, F-A1 & F3), and 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

On February 22, 2019, the JIT investigating the Sahiwal incident declared Khalil and his family innocent, while identifying the car driver, Zeeshan, as a member of a terror outfit. 

According to the JIT report, Zeeshan's mobile forensic report revealed connections with the leadership of Punjab Daesh (Khalid, alias Butt Sahib), operating from Afghanistan through the Threema app. The car used by Zeeshan in the Sahiwal incident was traced back to a terrorist Adeel Hafeez.

In October 2019, a special bench of an anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitted all six officials from the Punjab CTD who were accused of the brutal murder of four individuals.

Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta granted the police officials the benefit of doubt, delivering the verdict after hearing testimonies from 49 witnesses, including the brother of one of the victims. 

Following the acquittal of all suspects, the Punjab government filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court on October 21, 2019.

On December 22, 2021, the Lahore High Court issued a notice to the complainant in the Sahiwal incident for withdrawing his statement before the trial court, leading to the acquittal of the suspects (police personnel). 

The hearing was adjourned on January 18, 2022, as the Punjab’s prosecutor general failed to appear in LHC.