Faiz Hameed asked me to resign during Faizabad dharna: ex-law minister

ISLAMABAD: Former federal law minister Zahid Hamid told the Faizabad Dharna Commission that former DGC Faiz Hameed met him during the sit-in and asked him to resign.

He said that on November 26, 2017 junior officers of the ISI Lahore came to his house to take his resignation.

Former federal minister Zahid Hamid, who lost his ministry due to the Faizabad dharna, told these details to the members of the dharna commission. He said he had two meetings with the ISI during the sit-in. The first meeting was with two persons in the Ministry of Law whose ranks were not known to him, they were perhaps colonel-level officers. Hamid said that they wanted to know about his plans, and he told them he would follow the instructions of PM and party leadership. He said Faiz Hameed met him for the second time and asked if he could consider resigning for a short time to end the crisis. He said they thought that if he went on vacation for some time, the TLP people might be satisfied with that too.

He told Faiz Hameed that he had already offered his resignation to the prime minister, but he was not ready to accept it.

The prime minister told not to take any pressure. He said Shahid Khaqan had said in the meeting he would dissolve the government and would not allow his minister to resign.

Hamid further said that unfortunately, when the police action failed, he realised the only alternative would be the intervention of the army, which would not be good. In this situation, he once again asked the leadership to accept his resignation, and the PM reluctantly agreed to his resignation, and he was informed about it by the chief minister of Punjab.

Hamid noted on the night of November 26, 2017, junior officers of the ISI came to his residence in Lahore and requested him to announce his resignation so that the Faizabad Interchange could become clear in the morning.

After consulting the chief minister of Punjab over the phone, he agreed to release news of his resignation before submitting it.

The former law minister said that on November 26 when the police operation failed he realised that now it was time for intervention. He also revealed that during the sit-in, a meeting was arranged between him and other leaders of the PMLN and a TLP delegation. He said he was deeply saddened by the baseless accusations with regard to his faith.

Hamid said the TLP delegation heard him and categorically said that they withdrew their allegations and the delegation seemed satisfied and asked for time to consult with their leadership. He said members of delegation felt that the protesters who had been protesting for three weeks would not disperse unless he resigned.