ISLAMABAD - A day after the Punjab government reconstituted for the fourth time the joint investigation team (JIT) to probe into the gun attack on former prime minister Imran Khan in Wazirabad, the federal government on Wednesday raised objections over the composition of the investigation team.
The Ministry of Interior in an official communication has told the Punjab Home Department that the constitution of JIT did tion of JIT did not meet the criteria as required under Section 19 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 19971, according to a copy of the letter available with The Nation. The letter said that the constitution of JIT under the ATA requires inclusion of an officer of any other investigation agency including an intelligence agency. But the JIT comprises five members, all belonging to the Punjab police, with no representation of any other investigation/intelligence agency, it reads. The ministry told the provincial government that the federal intelligence agencies including Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) should be made part of the JIT for a thorough and transparent probe into the matter. On November 15, the Home Department had constituted the new JIT and Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar was appointed as its head. All other members of the JIT belonged to the Police Service of Pakistan. The interior ministry letter also raised objections over the nomination of Dogar as the head of JIT saying that the federal government had suspended the police officer and the Federal Service Tribunal only gave the additional inspector general of police temporary relief by allowing him to continue with his position as CCPO Lahore. It added that the police officer should not head the JIT under the given circumstances as a transparent probe could not be expected from him. On November 3, Chairman PTI Imran Khan had survived an assassination attempt in Punjab’s Wazirabad city when he was leading his party’s anti-government long march. On November 7, the Wazirabad police had registered the case under Section 302, 324, 440 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of ATA 1997.