Former top officials acquitted in Model Town massacre case

muhammadhafeezmalik · May 10, 2023

Former top officials acquitted in Model Town massacre case

Accused had submitted acquittal applications contending false allegations had been leveled against them

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday acquitted former Punjab inspector general police (IGP) Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera, former DIG Operations Abdul Jabar, DPO Kasur Tariq Aziz and others in the Model Town massacre case.

Fourteen people, including men and women, were killed and more than 100 injured during the anti-encroachment operation outside the Model Town residence of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on June 17, 2014.

The accused had submitted acquittal applications before the ATC contending that false allegations had been leveled against them, maintaining that they “had nothing to do with the case”.

On the other hand, Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) counsel opposed the version of the accused side’s counsels arguing there is substantial evidence which establishes their involvement. The PAT’s counsel had requested the court to dismiss their acquittal applications.

Earlier proceedings
Earlier, the court had admitted Lahore Division's former District Coordination Officer Capt. Retired Muhammad Usman in this case.

The court then observed that the plaintiff (PAT) could not establish an allegation against Usman after the accused had moved an acquittal application before the court.

ATC judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar in its judgment had stated that the role of the accused in the alleged conspiracy could not be established.

The court concluded that there is no probability of the conviction of the accused in this case and acquitted him.

It is worth mentioning that the court had indicted more than 120 people in the case, including 116 police officials, on a private complaint filed by Idara Minhajul Quran for seeking their trial on charges of killing its workers in 2014 Model Town incident.

The court in 2017 had partially admitted the complaint against 125 officials of police and district government while rejecting it to the extent of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, then Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others including then federal and provincial ministers.

The 12 political leaders against whom the ATC had rejected the complaint were Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz, then Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, then Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, then Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, then information minister Pervaiz Rashid, then State Minister Abid Sher Ali, then former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, then personal secretary to chief minister Syed Tauqir Shah, then home minister Azam Suleman and then Lahore commissioner Rashid Mahmood Langrial.