Hameed given clean chit in Faizabad sit-in case
ISLAMABAD: A commission, which was formed to probe 2017 Faizabad sit-in of the Tehreek-ilabbaik Pakistan’s (TLP), has given a clean chit to the then Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) internal security in-charge Lt-gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and the then Punjab Rangers Director General Maj Gen Naveed Azhar Hayat who had distributed money among the sit-in participants.
In its 243-page report sent to the federal government, the commission also recommended, among other things, legislation and drating of rules and standard operating procedures (SOPS) to regulate the working of intelligence agencies, leading newspapers reported.
The commission was formed on the directives of the Supreme Court to know the facts behind the sit-in. Its report said that Hameed had to sign the accord with the protesters as an arbitrator as he had the permission of the then army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and the then ISI chief.
The commission held the then Punjab government of Shahbaz Sharif responsible but refrained from writing his name in it. It said that no politician or official had given any proof of involvement of any agency or a state institution in the sit-in. So the commission could not establish any link between the TLP sit-in and government officials.
The commission proposed to legislate about the national intelligence agencies. It said that the army is a sacred institution of the state, and it should be refrained from interfering in civil maters so that it could be saved from criticism. With such action, public trust in the institution would increase.
The commission also proposed giving the Intelligence Bureau (IB) a lead role regarding internal security. It suggested action against the then Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz for telling a lie to the commission.
The forum had been asked to name the culprits behind the sit-in; however, it only recommended action against the people in light of the reports of Centre and Punjab. It recommended restoring the cases against the TLP instituted during the sit-in.
Former official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police Dr Akhtar Ali Shah headed the commission while former IGP Tahir Alam and senior official Khushhal Khan were its members.
The commission also atached statements of Shahbaz Sharif, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, incumbent IB chief Fawad Asadullah, Faiz Hameed, former IB chief Atab Sultan, former Punjab IGP Arif Nawaz, former Rangers chief Naveed Azhar Hayat and others.