ISLAMABAD - A day after families of Sahiwal shooting victims were brought to Islamabad for a meeting with the President and the Senate chairman, all sides on Saturday issued separate denials about giving such invitation and sought an explanation from the Punjab Police on whose orders it brought the family to the federal capital.
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Rehman Malik also refuted the claim that the families were called to Islamabad by the committee and denied their entry to the meeting that was held on Friday afternoon.
Earlier, Jalil Ahmed, brother of Khalil who along with his wife and a teenage daughter was shot dead by Punjab Police’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) taking to media said they were brought to the capital by the Punjab Police to meet President Dr Arif Alvi and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani but such meetings were later denied. “The family spent the day wandering through the capital,” he said adding that later they were informed that both President and Chairman Senate have left for Karachi and Balochistan respectively. “We are at a loss to understand what is being done to us,” he said and questioned why they were summoned if there were no scheduled meetings.
Police
Some TV channels quoting Punjab Police said that Senate Standing Committee on Interior had summoned the families of Khalil and Zeshan Javed, another victim of shooting that was dubbed by the CTD as a terrorist and a letter was also available in this regard. The police said that both families of Jalil and Zeesha were present inside Senate building but they were not called inside.
President House
The President House clarified that no meeting between President Arif Alvi and the families of Sahiwal shooting victims was scheduled. A statement issued by the President House said that an inquiry has been ordered to determine who brought the family to Islamabad.
Senate Chairman
A spokesman of Senate also strongly denied that chairman Senate called the victim family for a meeting in Islamabad but the meeting was not held.
The spokesman said: “Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani neither called the victim family for a meeting nor he received a message for a meeting from the family members.”
He further said an explanation would be sought from the Punjab government in light of media reports that a deputy superintendent of police took the family to Islamabad for a meeting.
Rehman Malik clarification
Chairman Senate Committee on Interior Rehman Malik also rejected the police’s viewpoint, saying victim families were not issued notice for the meeting held on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at his residence, Senator Malik said: “The victim families were not issued any notice for the meeting held on Friday.” He showed the media a copy of the notice which was issued for the meeting held on Friday.
Senator Malik said that it was important to know the point of view of the bereaved families of Sahiwal incident and they would be certainly invited to the committee to record their statements and in this regard a proper official notice shall be issued to the families. He said that the victim families and local councillors will be issued notices to attend the meeting next week. “Local MNAs and MPAs will attend the meeting as special invitees for their input on the incident,” he added. He said that the Senate Secretariat will manage transportation and other necessary arrangements for the victim families to attend the meeting.
He categorically said that the Ministry of Interior and Punjab Police did not inform him or any official of the committee about the presence of victim families in Islamabad otherwise they would have been brought in the meeting by him himself.
Senator Malik categorically rejected the police’s viewpoint and added that Punjab Police was not directed by the committee to bring the victim families to Islamabad.
