The administration would offer the commission full support, according to PM Sharif in a letter to the top judge, in an effort to regain public trust in government agencies and to identify the real causes of the shooting.
The premier suggested that the commission looks into a number of issues when looking into the shooting. These included security precautions for the long march, assertions that more than one shooter was involved in the incident, the number of victims, and the type of their wounds.
The letter further requested the committee to determine which law enforcement agency was in charge of the PTI chief’s protection and whether pertinent investigation SOPs were followed following the incident.
Additionally, it requested the panel to concentrate on determining whether intentional obstacles were being established during the inquiry process and, if so, whose components were involved. According to the letter, the panel was also tasked with determining if Mr. Khan’s gun attack was the result of a plot or a single person.
Mr. Sharif also asserted that the PTI-led administration in Punjab had disregarded the rules of procedure that were necessary for such circumstances. “The container where the incident took place and where the people received injuries, was not secured for the purpose of forensic examination,” the letter stated, “The medico-legal report of the PTI’s chairman was not compiled as he was rushed to a private hospital which was not a legal procedure.”
He continued by saying that other incidents raised concerns that the provincial government would tamper with the proof. “It amounted to mala fide manifestation that relevant legal procedures had not been adopted over the probe process and collection of evidence.” The federal government has already written to the provincial administration, expressing significant misgivings over these errors, the prime minister said in the letter, which he added was directed to them.
According to the report, criminals operating under the “patronage of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments had indulged in violent attacks on private and public properties, Governor House Punjab and other places”. In order to damage the military’s reputation, the letter continued, “a dirty campaign was being waged against the state institutions, notably against the armed forces.”
The premier stated in a different tweet, “I have written two letters to chief justice of Pakistan with a request to form judicial commission to investigate Arshad Sharif killing and attack on Imran. These unfortunate incidents are being used to make false allegations, spread chaos and undermine institutions. Let’s truth be determined.”
PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry responded to the letter requesting the creation of a full-court panel by saying the party has entire faith in the chief justice and the choice he will make regarding the PM’s request for a commission. He continued by saying that any investigation would be fruitless unless the PTI leader’s three named individuals resigned from their positions. Additionally, he urged that the same judicial body conduct a probe into the cypher scandal, Senator Azam Swati’s video leak, and the slaying of veteran journalist Arshad Sharif.
However, other legal experts asserted that while the CJ typically did not refuse the premier’s request, it was ultimately up to him whether to form a judicial panel made up of all judges of the supreme court or just a select group of them.
