Earlier, Babar replaced Sarfaraz as captain after the latter was removed as a result of Pakistan's recent T20I whitewash at the hands of a lowly ranked Sri Lanka side.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed the Punjab government to file an appeal against an anti-terrorism court's (ATC) decision to exonerate all accused in the Sahiwal killings case.

The premier also ordered the provincial government to conduct a probe into the factors that led the prosecution to put up a weak case before the court.

The PM's directives came after people widely condemned the ATC's Thursday decision to give 'the benefit of doubt' to all six officials of the Punjab Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD)' who killed three members of a family and their driver on January 19 in an alleged encounter.

The development was announced on Twitter by the Special Assistant to PM on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, who said the government remains determined to provide justice to the affected families.

'The state will take up the case if the victims' family does not pursue the matter,' she wrote, adding that the whole nation had seen the footage of parents being murdered in front of their children.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has sent letters to Punjab chief secretary and inspector general police (IGP), asking them to file a review petition against the ATC order.

The ministry said the prosecution department must prepare a strong case by identifying the culprits through real testimonies. It also called for forming a high powered committee to find out reasons behind prosecution's failure to present a strong case and identify the people responsible...