The investigating panel examining the sit-in at Faizabad ‘exonerates’ Hamid Faiz

The investigation committee set up to look into the Faizabad dharna issue has cleared former Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid, according to a Tuesday story in The News.

As for the matter being investigated by the commission established on the orders of the Supreme Court in the wake of the case pertaining to the 2017 sit-in at Faizabad, which was led at the time by former Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi, former Punjab Rangers director general Major General (retd) Azhar Naveed Hayat has also received a clean sheet.

It was stated that both of the former military commanders had distributed cash to protesters who were sitting in the federal capital. Major General Hamid was in charge of ISI’s counterintelligence wing at the time of the protest.

Dr. Akhtar Ali Shah, a former KP police officer, chaired the committee, which also comprised former inspector general Tahir Alam and senior PAS leader Khushhal Khan.

The investigation committee discovered that Hamid was authorized to sign the arbitration agreement by the then-director general of ISI and the head of the army. On November 25, 2017, Hamid signed the agreement with the consent of former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. After that, the protestors left.

The investigation committee was entrusted with locating the offenders who made the sit-in possible. But all it recommended was filing a lawsuit against the people in light of Punjab’s findings and the federal government. The panel’s report has been sent to the SC and the Cabinet Division. The study has suggested that the cases against the TLP during the dharna be restored.

The report also includes comments from Shehbaz Sharif, Iqbal, Abbasi, former ISI chief Hamid, former chairman of the Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan, former Punjab IG Arif Nawaz, former DG Maj Gen (retd) Azhar Naveed, and other individuals.

The authority asserted that the sit-in in Islamabad was the result of his administration, without naming the then-CM of Punjab, Shehbaz. After its journalist studied the 149-page report written by the commission and received selected passages, it published The News.

The panel concluded that there is no link between any government official and the demonstration since no evidence was found to support the involvement of a secret agency or state entity in its facilitation.

The panel recommended laws for the country’s intelligence services as well. It stated that the army is a highly esteemed institution of the state and that it should stay out of civil conflicts to shield itself from criticism. As a result, the organization would gain more public trust.

The commission recommended giving IB main charge of internal security. It has recommended that the former Punjab Inspector General Arif Nawaz be prosecuted for misconduct and lying to the panel.

The panel claimed that in order to maintain its base of support, the previous Punjab administration chose not to prosecute the protestors. This choice was considered improper since it constituted a betrayal of responsibility and misconduct. It recommended pursuing legal action against the accountable parties.

The organization advised against making a deal with the “terrorists” and instead advocated for a long-term fix to the problem. The panel suggested that “The funds now allocated to Rangers and FC [Frontier Corps] be transferred to the police and the paramilitary forces should be sent back to the borders.”

The commission rejected the TLP proposal at the time, suggesting that these agreements are only band-aid solutions. It said that laws pertaining to the policies and standard operating procedures of the intelligence agencies are necessary since they lack a code of conduct. The commission provided advice on the National Action Plan’s implementation.

It said that in addition to federal secretaries, ministers should be given financial and administrative authority. There should be independence for the capital chief commissioner. It also recommended that authorities work together to stop providing financial assistance to terrorist groups.

The commission has recommended that the Council of Complaints of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) be reorganized, the licence of TV channels be suspended for a period of six months, and the transmission of violent and inflammatory content be subject to a punishment of Rs50 million. It also recommended setting up a unique riot squad for Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The corpse said that no one spoke out against Hamid but Absar Alam, the former head of Pemra. The Punjab home minister at the time, Rana Sanaullah, was called, but he failed to appear. Shehbaz and the former ISI DG gave written testimonies to the inquiry.

Maj Gen (retd) Azhar Naveed had acknowledged that he had given the demonstrators money, but said it had come from his own wallet as a gesture of goodwill to allow them to go home. He disagreed with the idea that any state entity offered funding for this reason.

Furthermore, information about Zahid Hamid, the former law minister, is also included in the study.

It suggested examining the command and control structure of the police to identify flaws and vulnerabilities. It stated that the Faizabad dharna should serve as a lesson to policymakers, and that the policies of the government were flawed, which allowed similar incidents to occur.

Social media threats were made against army personnel, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and ministers during the sit-in, but the government failed to act against the propaganda on these platforms.

It is recommended that police personnel be assigned to challenging locations prior to being transferred to Islamabad. It is the government’s duty to maintain law and order, hence other ministries should not become involved. The research suggested that a zero-tolerance policy be implemented in order to combat violent extremism.