ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) is set to consider the federal government's request for an extension in the tenure of the committee investigating the Faizabad sit-in next week.
Initially, the committee was expected to present its findings in the third week of January. On January 8, the commission overseeing the investigation into the Faizabad Interchange sit-in in Islamabad appealed to the Supreme Court for a one-month extension to conclude the inquiry.
In specific terms, the federal government formally petitioned the Supreme Court for additional time to complete the investigation and ascertain the individuals responsible for planning, funding, and supporting the Faizabad sit-in in 2017. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to review the plea in the coming week.
Notably, the committee has already summoned several individuals, including former ISI director-general Lt. General (retired) Faiz Hameed, former prime ministers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Shehbaz Sharif, and others. On January 5, retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, the former director-general of ISI, submitted a written response to the inquiry commission.
The Faizabad commission was established by the federal government, led by retired Inspector General Akhtar Ali Shah, in response to the Supreme Court's rejection of the Fact-Finding Committee report. Constituted under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017, the commission is chaired by Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, a former civil servant, along with Tahir Alam Khan, a former police officer, and Khushal Khan, an additional secretary at the Ministry of Interior.
The Faizabad sit-in, organized by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on November 8, 2017, protested against amendments in the Election Bill 2017. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid. Consequently, the then PML-N government dismissed Zahid Hamid. The Supreme Court took suo motu notice of the sit-in on November 21, 2017.
In its verdict on February 6, 2019, a division bench led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa criticized the role of intelligence agencies in the incident.
Upon assuming the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in September of the same year, Justice Isa scheduled hearings for petitions challenging the February 2019 verdict. On November 1, the bench rejected the government's fact-finding committee and directed the formation of a commission of inquiry to uncover the mastermind behind the sit-in.
