ISLAMABAD: Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. General (retd) Faiz Hameed was acquitted by the inquiry team formed to investigate the Faizabad Dharna case.
Meanwhile, former Director General Punjab Rangers (Major) Azhar Naveed Hayat also got a clean chit in the matter being probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Commission in connection with the 2017 party in Faizabad. It was led by former Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
The two former military officers allegedly distributed the money among those who attended the meeting in the federal capital. At the time of the protests, Hamid headed the IDF’s intelligence service and rose to the rank of general.
The committee was chaired by former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officer Dr Akhtar Ali Shah and attended by senior MMB official Khushal Khan and former inspector general Tahir Alam.
The investigating agency found that the then army chief and ISI director general had authorized Hamid to sign the contract as a broker. Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal also agreed to sign the accord after Hamid dismissed the protesters on November 25, 2017.
An investigative agency has been tasked with identifying the perpetrators who facilitated the sit-in. However, he suggested taking legal action against the people because of the federal and Punjab government’s findings. Both the Cabinet Division and the SC accepted the report from the panel. During the dharna, proceedings against TLP were recommended to be continued.
In addition, Abbasi, Shehbaz Sharif, Iqbal, current IB chief Fawad Asadullah, former ISI chief Hamid, former intelligence chief Aftab Sultan, former IG Punjab Arif Nawaz and former Punjab Rangers Maj Gen (former) Azhar Naveed and the words of others included in the report .
The group also proposed the adoption of legislation related to the country’s intelligence services. The army is called a respected institution of the state and protects itself from criticism and does not get involved in civil disputes. As a result, people’s trust in the organization will increase.
The Council proposed to hand over the primary responsibility for internal security to the IB. The panel recommended action against the then IG Arif Nawaz for lying and misconduct in the panel.
The group recommends not dealing with “terrorists” and suggests a long-term solution to the problem. “Funds allocated to the Rangers and FC [Frontier Forces] will now be transferred to the police and the military should be sent back to the border,” the commission said.
At the time, the commission rejected a deal with TLP, saying such a deal would only be a short-term fix. In the absence of a code of conduct for the Mail Service, legislation is required in relation to policies and standard operating procedures. Implementation of the National Action Plan recommended by the commission.
It said ministers should be given financial and administrative responsibilities in addition to the federal secretary. The chief commissioner of the capital must be independent. In addition, all organizations are requested to work together to stop the financial support of terrorist organizations.
The panel recommended that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra)’s Complaints Board be replaced and the TV channel’s license suspended for six months and fined $50 million for broadcasting violent and inflammatory material. He also suggested setting up special insurgency teams for Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The crew said no one spoke against Hamid except former Pemra chairman Absar Alam. Despite being summoned, Punjab Home Minister Rana Sanaullah did not appear that time. A statement written by Shehbaz and former ISI DG was submitted to the commission.
Lt Gen (Retd) Azhar Naveed admitted to giving money to the protesters, but came out of pocket and sympathized with them so that they could return home. He rejected the notion that any government agency provided financial assistance for this purpose.
