On this day 6 years ago, the worst form of state terrorism took place when members of an anti-encroachment squad of Punjab police opened fire on peaceful protestors of Pakistan Awami Tehreek in Model Town Lahore. In an attempt to remove the security barriers leading up to the residence of Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader; Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.
PAT workers insisted the security barriers were legal and were placed in accordance with the court’s order. The encroachment squad ignored the order and proceeded with removing the barricades with bulldozers provoking the protestors to resist their actions, hence a scuffle started between the two.
Police officials retreated and after a failed negotiation between DCO Muhammad Usman and PAT general-secretary Khurram Nawaz, police officials returned with multiple squads led by various SPs with an aim to disperse the protestors by any means possible. Where some squad members fired tear gas and some used a baton to push the crowd away, some of the police members opened fire directly into the crowd which resulted in the deaths of 14 people, with more than 100 injured, 8 of which died at the scene including two women Shazia and Tanzeela, one of whom was pregnant.
The blood bath lasted for 11 hours and was covered by media all over the world, with some claiming the massacre the worst since the Laal Masjid incident.
The then CM Punjab Shahbaz Shareef condemned the firing on unarmed civilians and sought a full investigation report through judicial inquiry. Submitting an initial report became a tedious process for LHC as a cover-up was being unfolded with no-one willing to talk and claim responsibility for directing open attacks.
Police officials involved went to the extent of tampering with their medical reports depicting they had rubber bullet marks from firing by PAT workers. CM Punjab further went on to say that he did not know there was going to be a disengagement if any (Talk about a CM not knowing about a blood bath going on in his own city).
Punjab government then refused to publish the 74-page report by Justice Najafi until 2017, as it held then Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah directly responsible for ordering the attacks under the influence of CM Shahbaz Shareef.
Justice Najafi outlined four very important points in his report:
• The operation planned and designed under the chairmanship of the then law minister resulted in gruesome killings could have easily been avoided.
• The facts and circumstances of the bloodbath clearly show that the police officers actively participated in the massacre.
• The apathy and recklessness of all authorities in Punjab in the matter under hand-created genuine doubts about their innocence.
• The actions of police of firing and severely beating the people on the crime scene is irrefutably suggestive that the police did exactly for which they were sent and gathered over there. (globalvillagespace.com, n.d.)
No immediate action was taken after the incident.
Although, Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah was briefly removed from his seat but was reinstated shortly after. Although the report published by Justice Najafi was considered as having non-evidentiary value, the trial court did not call in any witnesses from the report or even raised the question regarding unleashing hundreds of policemen on unarmed civilians in Model Town who were protesting within constitutional limits and under court orders.
In 2018, PM Imran Khan ordered the removal of Police Officials involved in the massacre and insisted CM Punjab Usman Buzdar to speed up the process. PAT leader Dr. Tahir ul Qadri challenged the LHC’s rejection of request to summon 12 Parliamentarians including deposed brothers Nawaz Shareef and Shahbaz Shareef.
In January 2020, the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed LHC to conclude the case within three months. The result of which is still pending. It has been 6 years since the massacre of Model Town took place and the families of 14 innocent dead people still seek justice.
