Hamid Mir’s family surprised at new turn in attack probe
RAWALPINDI: Senior journalist Agha Khalid on Saturday told Geo that so far a normal enquiry was continuing in the Hamid Mir attack case and progress was satisfactory. However, he said, for the last two days some disturbing information was emerging that the driver and guard accompanying Hamid Mir during the attack would be arrested to extract like-minded statements to create problems for the Jang/Geo Group.
He said it was a rumour but today it was confirmed by a newspaper that claims to be the mouthpiece of a national institution. “It is said that they will be called to make statements and later they will be taken into custody.”
Agha Khalid said after their arrest and torture they will be forced to make statements that will create more trouble for the Jang/Geo Group.
“This has been done under a well-thought-out plan. This is like the investigating team constituted by the chief minister and headed by the CCPO. It was working smoothly but suddenly it was disbanded and the JIT was set up which would conduct the investigation with an ISI officer as its head.
He said when Hamid Mir had lodged his complaint against the ISI, what credibility would the investigation have? He questioned the legal status of the enquiry conducted by this team. The family of Hamid Mir is also surprised at this new turn in the probe.
Two senior officials, however, rejected apprehensions regarding the probe. They said everything will be done in a transparent manner. Neither of the parties will be unduly favoured and the law will take its course.
Geo News Special Correspondent Afzal Nadeem Dogar on Saturday said the driver and guard of Hamid Mir were in the protection of the channel. He said they had presented themselves before the police three times since the the tragic incident.
He said both were also produced before the JIT to record their statements and he did not think that any such apprehension came to the surface. Dogar said both these persons were voluntarily helping the investigations and they were taken everywhere to record their statements about the incident.
“After all, they are our employees who carried out all these processes, like booking.”
Asked if the culprits already in detention would not be implicated in the case, Dogar said from the first day of the incident predictions of such information from the police were circulating. He said some circles said no FIR had been lodged from their side and they should lodge an FIR; it might be possible that we conduct a press conference. But still no proof have been found.
“It is yet to be known which group is involved in the Hamid Mir incident or how the action took place”, he added.
He said he had got the information that the police will dump the blame on a banned outfit and that outfit will ‘disclose’ how this incident took place. “It is not for the first time, rather we have been seeing such a situation in Karachi since 1992. Mostly the culprits already in custody are implicated in such incidents and killed in encounter or produced in front of the media where they confess to their involvement.”
He said he had contacted some police high-ups in this regard who strongly denied it and said this was all speculation. They said this was a high-profile case and such possibilities could not take place and all legal requirements were being fulfilled in this regard.
When asked what kind of information he had about the JIT, Afzal Nadeem Dogar said first the investigation team was constituted after the attack on Hamid Mir and after that the JIT was set up which is carrying out the investigation. He said the personnel of all agencies were part of the JIT and the ISI personnel were on top. He said there were personnel of the Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, FS Wing of Rangers and besides them personnel of the police were also part of it.
He said the blame of Hamid Mir’s family was directed at the ISI or four other such departments related to it working directly under the army.
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