‘Faizabad sit-in was a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif’
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 01, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz senior leader Khawaja Asif claimed on Wednesday that the Faizabad sit-in was a conspiracy against former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
While talking to a private news channel, Khawaja Asif alleged that two developments in the Faizabad sit-in exposed its mastermind.
“[Former ISI chief Lieutenant General Retd] Faiz Hameed had insisted to become a witness in the agreement. He also claimed that the agreement could not be signed without his signatures.”
Related: Faizabad sit-in: SC rejects govt’s fact-finding committee
Pointing to the second development, Asif claimed, “Cash was distributed amongst the participants of the Faizabad sit-in and videos had also surfaced but no one took notice.”
The former defence minister claimed that ‘religion card’ was used in the Faizabad sit-in and baseless allegations were levelled against Zahid Hamid and Ahsan Iqbal.
Khawaja Asif continued that the conspiracy was also repeated during the tenure of former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The PML-N senior leader said there is a need to expose these faces.
He was of the view that the PML-N government was powerless to pursue the Faizabad case.
Faizabad sit-in
Back on November 08, 2017, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) organized a sit-in at Faizabad interchange against the amendments in the Election Bill 2017, changing the word oath to declaration.
Related: Faizabad sit-in: Govt constitutes fact-finding committee
Yesterday, the ex-chairman of the media regulatory body said that former ISI chief Faiz Hamid pressurised Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) during the Faizabad sit-in.
The former PEMRA chairman Absar Alam submitted his statement to the Supreme Court in the Faizabad sit-in case.
Absar Alam stated that Ex-ISI chief Faiz Hamid pressured him to take action against senior journalist Najam Sethi and ban the former US ambassador Husain Haqqani however his demands were not met.
In his statement, the former chairman of the media regulatory body said that a letter was also written to then prime minister and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in April 2017 regarding the pressure on the TV channels by Faiz Hamid and officers working under his command.