LAHORE: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek has announced a nationwide protest against what it alleges governmentdict ated f alse report on the Model Town killings by the Joint Investigation Team.

PAT President Raheeq Abbasi told a press conference here on Thursday that demonstrations would be held against the government at all towns and cities starting from Friday (today).

The JIT report, he said, proved their apprehensions that the investigation process would be manipulated and nobody could get justice while the present rulers were in power.

He lamented that instead of providing justice to the poor and helpless families whose members werekilled in the alleged police hring, the JIT protected the innuential and the `murderers`.

He said the PAT would contact foreign missions, human right organisations worldwide, European Union and all other forums in search of justice.

Flanked by Khurram Gandapur, Zahid Fayyaz, Jawad Hamid and Sohail Raza, Mr Abbasi raised three points: 1) The government promised to appoint an independent JIT with no Punjab police official as its member. 2) The Model Town case would be sent to a military court, and, 3) Justice Bagar Najafi Commission report would be made public and all the cases registered against PAT workers would be placed before an independent JIT.

But, he regretted, none of these promises were fulfilled.

During the press conference clip-pings and tapes of the alleged threats hurled by Khwaja Saad Rafique and then Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah at PAT leadership were played before the media.

The PAT leader recalled that in his initial statement under oath Rana Sana had said that on June 16, 2014, in a meeting, which he chaired, the removal of encroachments was discussed. `How can in his later statement he disassociate himself from the whole incident?` The PAT leader thanked opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rashid for raising the issue in the house.

PTI: The Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf has termed Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report about Model Town tragedy a pack of lies, wherein the rulers have been given a clean chit. It says the rulers` hands were blood-stained in the Model Townand Faisalabad incidents.

In a statement, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry demanded the rulers should also release the report of Judicial Commission`s inquiry into Model Town tragedy, wherein 14 Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers were killed by police.

He said the blood of those killed in Model Town and Faisalabad would not go waste and the rulers would have to be accountable for the killing of 14 people. He said the heirs of the Model Town tragedy victims must be dispensed justice and added that the PTI would continue to stand by the victims and deprived people in the country.

PPP: The PPP has said that the Punjab government`s effort to bail out the accused of Model Town tragedy through the joint investigation team report will not succeed.

`Why the Punjab government is not making public the judicial commission report on the Model Town incident in which 14 workers of the Pakistan Awani Tehreel< were killed and 90 injured by the police firing?,` PPP Central Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo asked and commented perhaps it held the top guns of the Punjab government responsible for the tragedy.

He alleged that the JIT had been formed to exonerate Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the then law minister, Rana Sanaullah.

The PPP leader wondered the judicial commission was formed by the government itself but it was deliberately not making its report public.

`Only inference that could be drawn from the hesitation of the government is that its findings have held the top government functionaries responsible for killing the innocent people,` he said.

Making the judicial commission`s report public would meet the imperatives of justice and fair play whileits hiding `under the safe official custody` was giving an impression of the mala ndes on the part of the government, he added.

Wattoo said the smokescreen of the JIT would not ball out the top functionarles of the Punjab government unless it decided to make public the judicial commission report.

A one-man judicial commission (Justice Bagar Ali Najfi) had probed the Model Town incident and reportedly held the Punjab government responsible for the killings.

Accordingtomediareports Shahbaz Sharif had never ordered police to disengage.

Then law minister Rana Sanaullah and principal secretary to CM Dr. Taugir Shah had mentioned in their affidavits to the commission that they had never been directed by the chief minister to `disengage` the police.

On the other hand, the JIT`s report said on rumours that PAT activists had abducted two policemen and that another policeman had been killed, some personnel of the force opened fire either on the orders of the then SP (security) Salman Ali or on their own. All JIT members also unanimouslydeclared Shahbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah `innocent` SARWAR: Former governor and PTI central leader Chaudhry Sarwar has written a letter to the members of European and British parIlaments, asking them to use their good offices to make the Egyptian government realise that the judgement against ex-president Morsi and others was `cruel and fell short of principles of justice`.

According to a news release, the letter says the Egyptian government should revoke the sentence by ordering a fair re-trial of the convicts.

`Silence over this act of injustice is not an option for us,` he said. He requested them to raise this issueat the European and British parliaments and hold dialogue with the Egyptian government.

The death sentence to a popularly elected president in 2012 after successful agitations against the despotic and corrupt government of Hosni Mubarik would not help the incumbent government, he said, adding that in fact, itwould cast a shadow on the best intentions and policies of the current leadership.

Mr Sarwar stressed that political leaders should not be eliminated for their dissenting views. The judgement showed a tendency to seek revenge, not justice, he said.

`The death sentence will be considered a judicial murder, a stain on the fair name of the present leadership of the country,` he said. `The implementation of death sentence will unleash an unending wave of violence and insecurity in Egypt and the Middle East. The verdict speaks of the traditional approach adopted in Egypt to silence political dissent and malign pluralism, he said.