Pak court acquits 6 counter-terrorism officials in Sahiwal encounter case

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Thursday acquitted six officials of the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) giving them the benefit of doubt in the killing of four people including three members of a family.

In January, Mohammad Khalil, his wife and their three children were travelling by a car, with their neighbour Zeeshan Javed behind the steering wheel, when the CTD personnel intercepted their car in Qadirabad area near Sahiwal and opened fire suspecting them to be terrorists.

Khalil, his wife and a teenage daughter died on the spot while their two children survived. Zeeshan was also killed in the firing.

The CTD officials said they had information that Zeeshan had links with a terrorist outfit. They claimed that a phone call was recorded from Afghanistan in which an Islamic State commander was directing another member of the network to ask others to hide after the killing of Zeeshan.

The incident had sent shock waves across the country and Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to award exemplary punishment to the culprits.

Anti-Terrorism Court (Lahore) Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta acquitted all six suspects - Safdar Hussain, Ahsan Khan, Muhammad Ramzan, Saifullah, Hasnain Akbar and Nasir Nawaz -- giving them the benefit of doubt.

The court recorded statements of 49 witnesses. The injured children had narrated the ordeal in the court but could not identify the suspects.

When the incident took place the government had immediately sacked Punjab CTD chief Rai Tahir but later he was reinstated.