Center writes to Punjab govt for registration of FIR of Wazirabad incident.

ISLAMABAD -- The Ministry of Interior has written to Punjab government for immediate registration of a First Information Report (FIR) of the Wazirabad firing incident on merit rather than conjectures or speculative allegations.

In a letter addressed to the provincial chief secretary, additional chief secretary home department and Punjab inspector general of police, the ministry termed the delay in the registration of the FIR a lacklustre response of the Punjab government to the unfortunate incident.

The ministry pointed out several lapses, including failure to provide adequate security to ex-prime minister Imran Khan, delay in lodging the FIR, releasing of confessional videos, and not providing any information to the Centre, on part of the provincial government.

Through the letter, the interior ministry has conveyed the federal government's grave concerns on the mishandling of the high-profile case, which was evident from the fact that the FIR of the said case, ordinarily required to be registered within 24 hours of any incident, had not been registered even after the lapse of more than 36 hours.

The ministry said that the failure to register the FIR despite the fact that the incident took place in the presence of provincial police personnel at the scene was indicative of the provincial government's lackluster response to the unfortunate incident.

Following the incident, the letter read, the provincial government had exhibited a complete unwillingness to provide any kind of explanation regarding the incident including its failure to provide adequate security to the former prime minister and the clear lack of adherence to standard operating security procedures in relation to the convoy.

The federal government also noted that the medico-legal examination of the former prime minister had not yet been carried out. It is also a matter of concern that the provincial government had failed to provide any updates regarding the weapon of offense and whether it had been forensically analyzed.

Moreover, it said, the crime scene was not secured for many hours after the incident which was again a violation of the prescribed procedures.

Additionally, it added, no official information regarding the victims or their nature of the injuries had been...