SAHIWAL  – An FIR against 16 police officers has been lodged under section 302 (premeditated murder)  of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997, at the Yousafwala police station on Sunday after a deadlock of 17 hours between protesters and administrative authorities on the Sahiwal incident.

Reportedly, Khaleel’s family members, relatives and their neighbours took to streets in Lahore with dead bodies to stage demonstration against police and the CTD.

Residents of the area also joined the protest which compelled district police officer (DPO) of Sahiwal to lodge the FIR after negotiations with the demonstrators failed repeatedly.

The FIR has been lodged on behalf of Khaleel’s brother Jaleel while a large number of protesters stayed outside the police station and chanted full throat slogans against police.

Traffic remained stranded on Ferozpur Road and other adjoining areas for more than 17 hours, causing severe inconvenience for commuters.

Moreover, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been formed which will be headed by DIG Zulfiqar Hameed after PM Imran Khan, CM Usman Buzdar and Punjab Inspector General Police Amjad Javed Saleemi took note of the incident.

The DIG has sought an inquiry report of the incident from Sahiwal regional police officer (RPO) and CTD Punjab.

Representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are also included in the JIT.

CTD officials taken into custody

Earlier, CTD officers involved in the alleged encounter were taken into custody on the directives of Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, according to the CM House spokesperson.

The CM had given orders of their arrest after PM Imran Khan took notice of the incident and demanded a transparent probe into the matter.

CM Buzdar summons high-level meeting

Punjab CM Usman Buzdar has summoned a high-level meeting on Sunday regarding matters pertaining to the Sahiwal incident.

He has vowed to take stern action against the perpetrators.

According to sources, today s session has examined the overall security situation in Punjab province and reviewed progress in the investigation.