The eight-year-long mystery surrounding the Faizabad sit-in was finally solved when it was revealed that politicians and not the military generals are responsible for all what has happened in this sit-in.
Is it not interesting that it took almost a decade to unfold this secret that military generals have just been suspected for their influence in this long story but actually the politicians are responsible?
As said above that who is responsible basically is the extract of the findings of the inquiry commission on Faizabad Dharna. This commission has also submitted its findings report to both the Supreme Court and the government of Pakistan. Now how the apex court of the country take these finding when it is already proceeding over Islamabad High Court judges’ letter is surely the mandate of this honorable court.
Anyway, according to the reported findings of this commission the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was the main decision-maker. Meanwhile, the military generals were found innocent. Another political personality that stands responsible in this regard is the then Punjab Chief Minister. This then CM obviously is the now Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
An interesting aspect of this report is that no politician could provide any proof to the commission of the involvement of intelligence agencies or a state institution in Faizabad sit-in. Thus, the commission has provided a clean chit to the former Director General (DG) of ISI Lt. General (Retd) Faiz Hameed and former DG of Rangers Major General (Retd) Naveed Azhar Hayat of any of their involvement in the said adventure.
The commission observed that Mr. Naveed Azhar Hayat gave the money to the participants of the sit-in from his pocket out of sympathy to help them collect their belongings from police stations and return to their homes; and he has also rejected the involvement of any agency or state institution in the financial assistance of the participants of this sit-in. Both of the generals have been alleged respectively as the handlers and financers of Faizabad sit-in to destabilize PML-N’s government and facilitate PTI to come in the system. It said that what Mr. Faiz Hameed did was in accordance with orders of the then Prime Minister.
The commission held the Pakistan Army a sanctified institution of the state and advised for to keep it refrained from the civil matters to help it saved from criticism and to increase public trust on this institution. It has proposed to legislate intelligence agencies of the country besides to give the Intelligence Bureau (IB) a lead role regarding internal security. It has proposed action against the then Inspector General of the Punjab Police – Arif Nawaz- for misguiding the commission and also for his misconduct.
Has this commission proposed any action against the then Prime Minister or the Chief Minister for their responsibility is not yet known. It has highlighted the Punjab government’s failure to address the issues relating to the said sit-in and for permitting the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to march to the federal capital. It is important to note that the commission’s report has been reported as saying that all decisions related to the Faizabad sit-in were made by the chief executive on behalf of the provincial government.
It has held the then Punjab government responsible for not taking action against the protesters just to save its vote bank. It has recommended not to make agreements with terrorists and seek for some permanent solution to the problem. It has recommended that Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC) should be back to the borders and be stopped from entering urban areas and their expenditures be fixed for police. Besides it has given some other recommendations such as framing the rules of procedure for intelligence agencies, implementing the National Action Plan, restructuring the media regulatory authority, and formation of a special riot force for Rawalpindi and Islamabad districts, and that the ministers should be given financial and administrative authority besides along with the federal secretaries.
Though the credibility of this commission’s report might be judged or debated at the relevant forums in the times to come, so far it has raised some questions at the public level. One of these questions is why this commission has been seeking repeated extensions of time from the Supreme Court when the former prime minister has accepted responsibility. Will the findings of the commissions be brought to the public? Has the commission recommended any remedy for those military generals maligned in Faizabad Dharna during the whole eight years? However, the commission’s report is also being taken very important among the public about finding both the said retired military officers as innocent particularly when a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court is already proceeding over a letter from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges over an alleged influence of the intelligence apparatuses in judicial decisions.
In the end, it is important to note that earlier the Supreme Court passed a judgment investigating the Faizabad sit-in and even this commission was formed by the federal government under the directions of this court. The verdict of the Faizabad Dharna case presented a crucial moment for Pakistan to demonstrate its dedication to the values of justice and accountability. It was an opportunity to confront the primary challenge that the nation faces and pave the way for a better future. The progress of the country depended on addressing this fundamental issue, and to regard everything else as of secondary level.
Former senior official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Dr Akhtar Ali Shah was heading this commission. Former IG Tahir Alam and PAS senior official Khushhal Khan were its members. It was formed under Inquiry Commission Act, 1956 to investigate and identify the persons responsible for the said sit-in. it was notified on September 15, 2023. The government constituted this commission after a judgment of the Supreme Court. Earlier a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa heard the petitions of ISI, IB, Military Intelligence (MI), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, Ministry of Defense, the PTI, MQM, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, President Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rasheed and President PML-Z Ijazul Haq.
(Senior journalist Rana Kashif has authored this article)
