LHC rejects appeal to summon Nawaz, Shahbaz in Model Town case

A Lahore High Court (LHC) full bench on Wednesday rejected two sets of appeals challenging a trial court’s decision on a private complaint of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT)/Idara Minhajul Quran regarding the 2014 Model Town incident.The PAT in its appeal had challenged the earlier decision of an anti-terrorism court to the extent of not summoning 12 people (all former parliamentarians of the PML-N including Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif), nominated by the party in its private complaint. Former inspector general of Punjab police, Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera and 127 other government officials had challenged the ATC’s decision to the effect of their summoning by the trial court in the complaint moved by the PAT. The ATC in April this year indicted 116 police officials on a private complaint filed by the Idara Minhajul Quran for their trial on charges of killing its workers during 2014 Model Town incident. The 116 accused indicted by the court pleaded not guilty and opted to contest their trial. The bench headed by Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan had reserved its verdict on appeals challenging the trial court’s decision on June 27 after Punjab Prosecutor General Ehtesham Qadir and lawyers of appellants had concluded their arguments. Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem were the other members of the bench. The court today decided to uphold the ATC’s earlier decision and rejected the PAT appeal to summon Nawaz, Shahbaz, Hamza Shahbaz, Rana Sanaullah, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Khwaja Asif, Pervaiz Rashid, Abid Sher Ali, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Syed Tauqir Shah, Azam Suleman and Rashid Mahmood Langrial, as well as Sukhera’s appeal. The bench rejected the PAT’s appeal with a 2 to 1 majority. Justice Muhammad Qasim Ali Khan opposed the decision made by the two other judges to reject the appeal and issued dissenting note.