Punjab police register FIR of Imran attack after four days at SC order
LAHORE: Following strict order by the Supreme Court and in line with the apex court order, Punjab Police have registered FIR in Imran Khan’s assassination case.
According to details, in compliance with the direction of the Supreme Court, the Punjab Police finally registered an FIR of the attempted assassination of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Wazirabad after four days, sources said.
On November 3, at least 14 people, including former prime minister Imran Khan sustained bullet injuries when a suspect opened fire during the PTI’s protest rally at Allahwala Chowk.
The FIR has been registered under the charges of murder, attempt to murder, terrorism and others at the City Police Station in Wazirabad, sources added.
Naveed, the suspect arrested at the crime scene, has formally been nominated in the FIR, they said, adding that the FIR would be presented in the SC tomorrow.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi met PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. The CM inquired after Khan and spoke about the matters related to the next phase of long march, security and registration of FIR against the attack on Khan. PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi and others were also present on the occasion.
Long march to resume on Thursday
The PTI has changed its plans and will now be resuming its long march from Thursday instead of Wednesday following a brief pause due to party chief Imran Khan’s injury in an attempt on his life last week.
Islamabad Capital City Police has warned of legal action against protests without permission in the federal capital ahead of the resumption, while the Supreme Court has ordered the Punjab IG to register the FIR of the assassination attempt on Khan.
Imran Khan says election date must
Imran Khan is currently recovering in Lahore from the bullet injuries that he sustained in the Wazirabad attempted assassination attack. He was discharged from the Shaukat Khanum Hospital a day earlier.
Khan said that no compromise can be made with coalition rulers, including PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
Change of plans
In a change of plans, Khan said the march would resume on Wednesday (November 9) instead of Tuesday. The PTI chief did not give a reason for the delay.
He said the march would be led by PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar and the party’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The long march had come to a halt last week after the attack on Khan.
Not seeking conflict with army
The PTI chief — who has been critical of the armed forces since his ouster in April — said that the personnel of the army standing guard on the borders were like his “children”.
Khan said that going against the institution was not an option for the party.
The former prime minister has blamed three people, including a senior military official, for the Wazirabad attack and also called for his dismissal. However, the army has rejected the allegation and termed it “baseless”.
SC warns of suo motu notice
Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday directed Punjab police chief Faisal Shahkar to register a first information report (FIR) of the gun attack on PTI chief Imran Khan within 24 hours.
The PTI chief was injured during a gun attack while leading the party’s long march in Punjab’s Wazirabad on November 3. A PTI supporter, Muazzam Nawaz, was killed in the incident while 14 others, including Imran, were wounded.
The matter was raised at the hearing of a contempt plea filed by the interior ministry against Imran for allegedly flouting a May 25 order of the apex court that defined the limits for the party’s ‘Azadi March’ gathering in Islamabad at the time.
A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Mazahar Akbar Naqvi, heard the plea.
During the hearing, CJP Bandial warned of taking suo motu notice if the FIR of the attack was not registered.
He also asked Punjab inspector general (IG), who joined the hearing from the SC’s Lahore registry via video link, why the FIR was not registered. “Tell us when the FIR will be registered,” he said, adding that there should be a concrete reason for not registering the FIR.
CJP Bandial observed that it had been 90 hours since the attack but the FIR had not yet been registered. “How will an investigation be initiated without it? And without an FIR, even evidence can be altered,” he added.
IG Shahkar — who has decided to part ways with the Punjab government and refused to work with the current political setup in the province led by Chief Minister Parvez Elahi — informed the court that “we have spoken to the Punjab CM regarding the registration of the FIR and he has expressed some reservations”.
He further said a FIR should also be registered on the complaint of the heirs of the man who was killed in the incident. Shahkar remarked that Punjab had seen “eight IG’s being replaced in four years”.
At that, the CJP remarked, “Don’t tell us what options the police have […] the criminal justice system and delivery of justice is our topmost priority. “Work according to the law, the court is with you,” the CJP told the IG.
The CJP then directed Shahkar to probe the matter, assuring him that nobody would interfere in his work till the time he was posted as the IG. “IG sahib, you do your job. If someone interferes, the court will interfere in their work,” he said.
Warning of taking a suo motu notice if the FIR was not registered, the CJP said, “IG sahib, you will be answerable in the sou motu notice. “There was an attempt to kill a national leader, realise the sensitivity of the matter. Investigate, collect evidence and get a forensic [analysis] conducted.”
CJP Athar Minallah
Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah Monday advised the country’s political leadership against bringing their conflicts to courts and rather strengthening the Parliament by resolving those issues in democratic ways.
“Our tragedy is the state has failed to shoulder its responsibilities. Half of our life was spent in dictatorships, while the courts in their rulings have time and again reiterated there is no supremacy of law and that law is only for the elite,” the CJ of IHC said while addressing a full court reference organised in his honour.
He said the IHC was not like any other high court as it represented the federation. “The implementation of the law is linked to a change of mindset. Political leadership can strengthen the execution of the Constitution.”
It was the responsibility of the political leadership to resolve their issues in the legislature instead of dragging them to courts of law, he added.
He further said their (judiciary’s) performance could be gauged by how much trust the public had in the legal system. “The answer to the question ‘if there is any civilian and constitutional supremacy’ is a no. There’s no rule of law hear, but the rule of the elite,” said he.