LAHORE: Major opposition parties have questioned the “silence” of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on the Sahiwal tragedy.

“Usman Buzdar had claimed that he would ensure justice in the case after the Joint Investigation Team’s report. Why is he now tight-lipped on this matter?” asked Hamza Shahbaz, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, while talking to reporters here on Tuesday.

He said the PML-N would not let the PTI government get away with “these murders” and seek justice for the victim families.

“We will not rest until the victim families get justice,” he said and added that the families had strong reservations.

Hamza further said despite the opposition’s demand the government had not yet formed a judicial commission to probe the matter. He said the whole nation wanted justice in this case as the culprits should be hanged where they had killed Khalil and his family.

On Jan 19, four people, including three members of a family, were shot dead near Sahiwal in an ‘encounter’ conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department.

Last week, for the first time in the history of Punjab Assembly, its members were given an in-camera briefing on the Sahiwal tragedy. Both PML-N and PPP have demanded constitution of a judicial commission to investigate the incident. Prime Minister Imran Khan had told the PTI parliamentarians that if the opposition wanted a judicial commission to probe the Sahiwal incident he would form it.

Talking about the case against Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza said no corruption charges had been proved against his father. He said there should be accountability but no revenge.

PPP: The PPP has also criticised the Prime Minister Imran Khan for not paying a visit to the families of the Sahiwal incident victims for condoling with them over the loss of their dear ones and questioned the changing stance of the Punjab government.

“The nation is at a loss to understand what’s stopping Prime Minister Imran Khan from visiting the families of the Sahiwal victims and showing sympathies with them despite the passage of 10 days,” PPP central deputy information secretary Munawar Anjum said on Tuesday.

He termed the PM’s statement on the incident wherein he had pledged to take the accused to task a farce as the provincial government was defending the police involved in the gory drama. He said the PTI on the whole had played a negative role on the issue as its Punjab government kept changing its stance on the killings, raising many questions.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2019