The proceedings of the Joint Investigation Team’s investigation into the attempted assassination of PTI chief and former PM Imran Khan have not shed much light on the attempt itself, but show that the assassination attempt may well degenerate into a political football, with opinions about the investigation corresponding directly with political affiliation. For a start, the JIT itself is controversial. PTI supporters feel it is perfectly fair and objective. PTI opponents believe it is unfair and inclined too much towards Mr Khan and his version of events, because the PTI controls the Punjab government, and formed the JIT. PTI supporters claim Mr Khan was attacked as a result of a conspiracy by the PM, the Interior sinister, two A4rmy officers serving in the ISI, and the then COAS. This, they say, is shown by the confession of the assailant which was videotaped. However, the accused’s lawyer has denied the confession, and has said the videotape was inadmissible. He has claimed that the attempt was actually staged by Mr Khan himself because of the failure of his Long March. Those are the major points of disagreement: actually, there seem to be sharp disagreements on every point. It is virtually a wonder that everyone agrees there was an attempt on Mr Khan.
At one level, it should not matter that the victim was an ex-PM. It should be enough that he is a citizen of the country. However, it cannot be gainsaid that the investigations into the assassinations of PM Liaquat Ali Khan and ex-PM Benazir Bhutto have gone nowhere, and have failed to identify who was behind the attempts. This should not be repeated in this case. The possibilities should be identified clearly, and even if the trial court does not convict the accused, there should have been a high probability of guilt. Whether the cause be religious conviction, as claimed by the accused in his now-impugned statement, or a conspiracy by the upper echelons of power, those responsible midst be punished, and any negative thinking must be rooted out, and protocols established to make a PM’s or ex-CM’s security impregnable.
As a first step, the JIT must be reconstituted so that it has the consent of all political forces. Even if the subsequent investigation is rejected by one or more of the political parties (as is more likely than not), the prior agreement will at least convince the public that the truth has been brought out.
