ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for making public the report of Faizabad dharna commission, constituted to investigate the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) 2017 sit-in, which recommended legislation to regulate the working of intelligence agencies, ARY News reported on Wednesday.
In a statement, PTI spokesperson said that it was the people’s fundamental right to know the authentic contents of the report – submitted to federal government.
The spokesperson alleged that the dharna commission held Shehbaz Sharif and the then Punjab government responsible, while demanding punishment for the culprits instead of locking it into the cupboard to protect the wrongdoers.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Faizabad dharna commission gave a clean chit to former spy chief Faiz Hameed.
On November 08, 2017, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) held a sit-in at Faizabad interchange against the amendments in the Election Act 2017, changing the word oath to declaration.
Ex-PEMRA chief Absar Alam – in response submitted to Supreme Court – said that former ISI chief Faiz Hameed pressurized the media regulatory authority during Faizabad sit-in.
Absar Alam stated that Ex-ISI chief General retired Faiz Hameed pressurized him to take action against senior journalist Najam Sethi and ban the former US ambassador Husain Haqqani however his demands were not met.
The federal government established an inquiry commission, headed by retired Inspector General Akhtar Ali Shah, in response to the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Fact-Finding Committee report.
However, the inquiry commission – in its 149-page report issued today – give clean chit to former spy chief.
Read More: Khawaja Asif rejects Faizabad sit-in inquiry report
The commission maintained that the then DG ISI and Army Chief had given permission to Faiz Hameed for the agreement. The report added that then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal were also taken on board for the agreement.
The Faizabad sit-in inquiry commission was established in the light of Supreme Court directives. The commission reviewed the reasons related to the Faizabad sit-in and also made recommendations.
Read More: Faizabad commission report reveals new details about 2017 sit-in
The report read that policymakers must learn lessons from the Faizabad sit-in as incidents like this are ‘fueled’ by flaws in government policy.
Punjab government allowed the TLP march to go to Islamabad instead of stopping it in Lahore, the report read. “Due to the lack of communication in the police of the twin cities, several causalities were reported,” it added.
The federal government engaged the ISI to gain access to the TLP leadership. “An agreement was reached with the help of spy agency, after which the protesters dispersed on November 25, 2017,” the report read.
