Faizabad dharna Inquiry commission gives clean chit to ex-ISI chief Gen Hamid

Islamabad, Apr 16 (PTI) Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid has been exonerated by the inquiry commission established to investigate the 2017 sit-in by a hardline religious group here and Rawalpindi, a media report said on Tuesday.
    The commission was formed on the directives of the Supreme Court to unravel the facts behind the 2017 sit-in at Faizabad by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
    The 20-day sit-in by the group caused massive inconvenience to the public as it paralysed life in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
    The commission in its finding, said that Gen Hamid had to sign the accord as an arbitrator as he had permission of the then Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI DG Naveed Mukhtar.
    Meanwhile, former Punjab Rangers director general Major General (retd) Azhar Naveed Hayat has also received a clean chit in the matter that has been under probe by the commission, Geo News reported.
    Both the former military officers were accused of distributing money among participants of the sit-in protest in the federal capital. At the time of the protest, Hamid was heading ISI's counterintelligence wing and held the rank of a major general.
    The commission was led by Dr Akhtar Ali Shah, a former officer of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police.
    Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal had also agreed to the signing of the accord by Hamid on November 25, 2017, following which the demonstrators dispersed.
    The probe body was tasked with identifying the perpetrators who facilitated the sit-in. However, it simply suggested taking legal action against the individuals in light of the federal government and Punjab's findings.
    Additionally, statements from Abbasi, Shehbaz Sharif, Iqbal, current Intelligence Bureau head Fawad Asadullah, former ISI chief Hamid, ex-Intelligence Bureau chief Aftab Sultan, ex-Punjab IG Arif Nawaz and former Punjab Rangers DG Maj Gen (retd) Azhar Naveed and others are attached to the report.
    Without mentioning the name of then-Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz, the commission said his government was responsible for the sit-in in Islamabad.
    "There is no connection of any government official with the protest as we could not find evidence establishing involvement of a state institution or secret agency in facilitating it," the commission stated.
    During the sit-in, army officers, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and ministers received threats on social media, but the government committed negligence in taking action against the social media propaganda.
    The commission said that the then Punjab government desisted from taking action against the protesters to save its vote bank and the action was not praiseworthy as it was an escape from the responsibilities and misconduct. It recommended action against the responsible persons, The News International reported.
    The commission said that there should be no agreement with the terrorists, and there should be some permanent solution to the problem.
    The commission has rejected accord with the TLP at that time, suggesting that such agreements are a temporary solution, not a permanent one. It said that there is no code of conduct for the intelligence agencies, so there is a need for legislation regarding their rules and SOPs. The commission recommended the implementation of the National Action Plan.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)