Govt challenges acquittals in Sahiwal killing case.

LAHORE -- The Punjab government on Monday filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court challenging the acquittal of all suspected police personnel in the Sahiwal carnage wherein four people were gunned down in an alleged encounter.

Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Samad filed the appeal on behalf of the government pointing out several legal lacunae in the impugned judgement passed by the trial court last week.

An anti-terrorism court had acquitted all the six personnel of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) charged with the killings after all the witnesses resiled from their statements.

The government pleaded in the appeal that the trial court ignored facts of the case and video and forensic evidences. The appeal said the trial court neither provided protection to the witnesses nor took action against them after they resiled from their statements. It submitted that the trial court should have held in-camera proceedings of a highly sensitive case and it overlooked the report of the joint investigation team.

The government asked the court to set aside the trial court's verdict and punish the suspects under the law. It also sought action against those responsible for the flawed investigation into the case and the witnesses for changing their statements.

On Jan 19, Muhammad Khalil, his wife Nabeela and their four children were travelling in a car that was being driven by their neighbour Zeeshan when the CTD personnel intercepted the vehicle and opened fire on the passengers suspecting them to be terrorists.

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