The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered a sessions judge to appoint a magistrate to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Sahiwal encounter and submit a report on his findings within a month.

A two-judge bench, headed by LHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan, was hearing a petition seeking the formation of a judicial commission to conduct a transparent probe into the Sahiwal incident last month in which four people, including a teenage girl, were killed allegedly by Counter-Terrorism Department officials.

During the hearing, the state lawyer told the bench that statements of seven witnesses have been recorded. The bench asked if the joint investigation team (JIT) had recorded the statements of the people named on the list given by the court. When the JIT chief, Ijaz Shah, failed to give a satisfactory answer, the bench expressed displeasure over his lack of preparation.

"How about we issue you a notice saying that you did not act upon court's orders?" the judge remarked.

The proceedings were adjourned for a fortnight.

Multiple petitions seeking the formation of a judicial commission have been filed in the high court by family members of victims and some lawyers who challenged the establishment of a JIT. A writ petition filed by the brother of one of the victims, pleaded that since the high-ups of law enforcement agencies were involved in the killings, the JIT made by the government could not reach a just decision.

The petitioners argue that the ministers and officials had been changing their statements on the incident that showed their connivance or ill-will regarding the dispensation of justice to the victims’ family.