Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Rehman Malik on Tuesday rejected the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and asserted to hold a judicial inquiry to probe into the killing of the three members of the same family and their friend in an alleged encounter by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Sahiwal.

Reportedly, the parliamentary panel met Senator Rehman Malik while relatives of the victims, including Khalil’s brothers and Zeeshan’s mother, appeared before the panel to record their statements.

The committee categorically rejected the joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the government to probe into the incident.

“Why the government is not appointing a judicial commission to probe into the incident,” Malik questioned.

Mother of Zeeshan, who allegedly had links with a banned outfit, told the committee that her son was not a terrorist.

“Why Zeeshan was not arrested alive, if an Indian terrorist Kulbhushan Jadhav could be arrested alive,” she asked.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator Javed Abbasi and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator Azam Sawati exchanged heated words during the meeting when the former referred to ministers’ controversial statement over the incident and called them ‘liars’.

However, Sawati said that holding the whole CTD department and the government responsible for the incident was wrong.

Abbasi refuted the JIT’s probe by stating that officers were themselves involved in the incident and he feared that the inquiry committee would try to save the officers responsible for killing.

Later, Malik said that a letter has been written to Prime Minister Imran Khan for asking him to form a judicial commission on the matter.