AG’s office awaits report on Faizabad sit-in case from inquiry commission

ISLAMABAD: The attorney general’s office is yet to receive the report compiled by the inquiry commission established to probe the Faizabad sit-in case.

The commission, led by Dr. Akhtar Ali Shah, a former officer of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, and comprising senior PAS official Khushhal Khan and former IGP Tahir Alam, submitted its report the other day.

It was reported that both the Cabinet Division and Supreme Court (SC) have received the report from the panel.

However, sources close to the AG’s office revealed on Tuesday that the report of the inquiry commission had not yet been received by the office. They said that before receiving it, the inquiry commission’s report would be approved by the cabinet.

Normally, any report on behalf of the federal government is submitted to the Supreme Court through the office of attorney general.

The News repeatedly attempted to contact Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan for confirmation of receiving the inquiry commission’s report.

However, the AG did not respond to calls or text messages on the matter.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Chaudhry Aamir Rehman, Deputy Attorney General, initially said that the report had not yet been received by the AG’s office. Later, he said, “I don’t know,” adding that he had no information on the matter.

The Supreme Court had taken a suo motu notice of the Faizabad sit-in on November 21, 2017.

Later, a division bench led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa on February 6, 2019, announced its verdict in the sit-in case, criticising the role of intelligence agencies in the saga.

Last year, in November, the government had announced a three-member commission to identify those who planned, financed and supported a sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad area six years ago—a dharna that brought the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) into the national spotlight.

Constituted under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017, the commission was led by Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, a former civil servant who had also served as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s police chief. It also comprises Tahir Alam Khan, a former police officer, and Khushal Khan, an additional secretary at the Ministry of Interior.

The commission was tasked with recommending legal action against the planners and executors of the protest, which disrupted lives in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad between November 6 and November 27, 2017. The commission was required to conclude its inquiry within two months after its notification.