Pakistan today formed a judicial commission to investigate Lahore violence that killed eight people, even as police registered cases against 3,000 supporters of Canada-based cleric Tahirul Qadri on charges like murder and terrorism.
A 15-year-old girl and a women, were among those killed and over 100 wounded in clashes between Qadri supporters and police in Model Town yesterday in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's home city over the removal of barriers from Qadri's residence and offices.
The police also produced 40 activists of Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tahreek (PAT), meaning 'Pakistan People's Movement', before an Anti Terrorism Court today.
Eleven of the accused presented before the court were women. The court set the women free and sent the males to judicial custody. They have been booked for murder, terrorism and other charges.
Qadri's son Hussain was also named in the FIR. Police were raiding various locations to arrest him.
Lahore High Court's Justice Ali Baqar Najafi will hold a judicial inquiry into the killings. Chief Justice of the High Court, Khwaja Imtiaz Ahmad, constituted a one-man tribunal to ascertain the facts and circumstances leading to the incident.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while expressing grief and sorrow over the Lahore tragedy, assured legal action will be taken against those responsible for this incident.
"Tribunal under a high court judge has already been set up to determine those responsible for the incident," Sharif said in a statement issued from Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan where he is on a two-day state visit.
Meanwhile, Qadri rejected the enquiry commission saying that an independent investigation of the incident will take place once Sharifs are out of power.
"We will register FIR against Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz Sharif and all those responsible for the killing of the innocent people," he said.
As per postmortem reports, all casualties were result of bullets wounds belying the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government's claim that the police did not open fire on the protesters.
