Osama Satti inquiry.

THE findings of the judicial inquiry into the Jan 2 killing of 21-year-old Osama Satti in Islamabad merely confirms what observers and the victim's family have been saying all along: Osama Satti was murdered in cold blood by personnel of the Islamabad police on Srinagar Highway. The report states that the level of brute force used by the policemen who shot the young man implies that their intention was to kill, rather than neutralise a threat. 'Osama's body lay on the road while police vehicles surrounded it to keep the matter hidden from the public. Instead of shifting the body to the hospital, the officials kept it on the road. It appears as if they waited for Osama to die,' it states. Contrary to official claims, the report reveals that Satti was killed by police personnel who fired at least 22 times from standing or sitting positions. The report also exposes the extent to which law enforcers went to cover up their colleagues' brutal actions - from attempting to destroy evidence to giving the wrong address to Rescue 1122 and asking it to return. All this shows that police control was also compromised and ended up abetting the murderers. What is most lamentable, however, is that such revelations do not come as a shock any longer. There...