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Faizabad commission: Ex-DG ISI Faiz Hamid denies allegations of ‘conspiracy’ against govt

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  • Hamid says held talks with TLP on the government’s direction.
  • Commission sends questionnaire to him after failure to show up.
  • Body set up to follow up on SC’s 2019 Faizabad verdict.

ISLAMABAD: Former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hamid has recorded his statement before the Faizabad sit-in commission, denying allegations of conspiring against the government, sources told Geo News Thursday.

The former spymaster was summoned by the panel — investigating the 2017 sit-in staged by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) — thrice but he failed to appear before it.

He was then sent a questionnaire by the commission to which he responded and stated that he held negotiations with the TLP on the directions of the government.

According to the sources, the commission had summoned the former army officer on January 2 (Tuesday) but he didn’t appear before the panel.

This was the third time that the former ISI chief remained absent from the hearing being conducted by the inquiry commission, which earlier summoned him in the second week of December last year and then on December 29, sources said. However, the first notice couldn’t be delivered.

In November last year, the caretaker federal government constituted the inquiry commission for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2019 Faizabad verdict.

The probe panel was constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the chair of retired IGP Akhtar Ali Shah after the apex court rejected the fact-finding committee report constituted by the government.

On November 15, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that the commission would be empowered to summon anyone, including former army chiefs, prime ministers, and chief justices.

The inquiry commission is required to submit its report to the top court on January 22.

The probe panel had also summoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on January 3 but he too didn’t appear and requested the commission to send him questions. 

He has now been sent a 21-point questionnaire to answer.

Earlier, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, then-secretary to PM Fawad Hasan Fawad, and other senior officials serving in Islamabad and Punjab who were involved in the episode had appeared before the probe panel.

Faizabad verdict

In November 2017, the top court took suo motu notice of the three-week-long sit-in, which was held against a change in the finality-of-Prophethood oath, termed by the government as a clerical error, when the government passed the Elections Act 2017.

The sit-in was called off after the protesters reached an agreement with the government.

On February 6, 2019, a two-member bench of the apex court comprising the now-CJP Isa and Justice Mushir Alam recommended that persons, issuing an edict or fatwa to harm another person or put another person in the harm’s way must be dealt with iron hand and prosecuted under relevant laws.

It also ruled that the intelligence agencies must not exceed their respective mandates. Later, the bench disposed of a suo moto case regarding the 2017 Faizabad sit-in staged by the TLP.

The 43-page verdict issued by the two-judge bench and published on the apex court’s website read: “Every citizen and political party has the right to assemble and protest provided such assembly and protest is peaceful and complies with the law imposing reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order.

“The right to assemble and protest is circumscribed only to the extent that it infringes on the fundamental rights of others, including their right to free movement and to hold and enjoy property.”

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PM Says Government’s Efforts Are Putting the Economy on a Growth Trajectory While Hosting Dinner in Honor of Parliamentarians

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In appreciation for their collaboration on government matters, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif hosted a luncheon on Monday for lawmakers from different political parties.

He emphasized that the government’s successful economic policies were demonstrated by the inflation slowing down to 9.6% in August 2024.

“It is good news for the country that the economic experts are predicting further decline in the inflation rate this month,” he stated, bringing up the fact that in 2018 they had left the government with a single-digit inflation rate.

The prime minister credited the country’s economic growth to the measures taken by his previous administration in April 2022 to prevent the nation from going into default. Through their efforts, the economic team was able to stabilize the economy and set it on a path of growth.

Members of the government’s affiliated parties from the National Assembly and Senate were present at the event.

Assuming the role of Khadim-e-Pakistan, the prime minister stated that he had pledged to the people that he would do everything within his power to alleviate their concerns.

He said that the country could not flourish to its full potential if the average person’s life was not made easier, even as the benefits of economic changes were beginning to trickle down to the populace.

The prime minister stated that the administration was taking action to give the lowest-income groups in society the most assistance possible with relation to the power tariffs.

According to him, the government offices had begun the process of right-sizing and downsizing in order to cut costs.

In order to lead the nation out of its economic predicament, the prime minister stated that cooperation across all parties is necessary, even as she emphasized the importance of political stability and policy continuity.

He also denounced the unsuitable language that last night’s political party leaders employed.

He stated that although terrorism had been virtually eradicated in the nation under the direction of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, it was regrettably making a comeback in some regions of the nation. Still, he swore to remove the threat once more.

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Sturdy Operations To Uphold Peace: Enhanced UN Peacekeeping Is Needed To Meet Global Issues

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Restoring global peace and addressing new global concerns have prompted Pakistan to demand more efficient United Nations peacekeeping.

During the security council’s open discussion on UN peacekeeping operations, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, made the request.

According to him, a number of intricate and novel difficulties that stem from various sources have raised the profile of UN Peacekeeping.

The African Union is among the organizations ready to take on more forceful operations to ensure peace, and Ambassador Munir Akram has called on the international community, particularly the United Nations and the Security Council, to offer their full support to them.

Along with this, he reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to bolstering and improving UN peacekeeping efforts, especially in areas like South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.

As part of a larger endeavor to tackle the changing difficulties of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, he said.

Increased focus on supporting community-based peace efforts at the grassroots level is necessary to curb violence, according to Ambassador Munir Akram.

Localized peace agreements can have a major good impact, as demonstrated by the efficacious endeavors of Pakistani Peacekeepers in Abyei, he claimed.

Pakistan is dedicated to tackling the present peacekeeping issues, he said, and has a long history of participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

During its two-year term on the UN Security Council and Peace Building Commission, Pakistan will also actively participate, according to Ambassador Munir Akram, at the next ministerial preparatory meeting in Islamabad.

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NAB sends 161 well-known cases to the department of anti-corruption

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As a result of recent modifications that the Supreme Court upheld, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has moved 161 well-known cases to the Anti-Corruption Department.

Key department officers from the Board of Revenue, Department of Agriculture, Department of Works and Services, Department of School Education, Department of Excise, and Karachi Development Authority (KDA) are among the officers involved in the transferred cases.

In addition, there are allegations against officials from the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, Sindh Building Control Authority, Health Department, Public Health Engineering Department, and Local Government Department.

These high-profile cases will now be investigated by the Anti-Corruption Department as a result of this transfer. The NAB was forced to turn over these cases to the appropriate provincial authorities as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate the NAB modifications.

Requests for documents from the pertinent departments have already been made by the Anti-Corruption Department, starting the process. Soon, the police involved in these situations should be receiving notices.

After the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) statutes were recently amended and affirmed by the Supreme Court, former prime minister Imran Khan also requested relief in the 190 million pounds case on September 7. By means of his legal team, the PTI founder has now filed his first acquittal petition.

Response to the NAB reference on financial misconduct allegations was filed through the petition.

After the federal government’s intra-court appeal against the amendments’ nullification was approved on September 6, the Supreme Court reinstated the changes made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law. The ruling reversed the previous ruling of a two-member bench that had declared the modifications unlawful. The five-member bench was led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

Chief Justice Isa delivered the decision on behalf of the unanimous court. Declaring that constitutional institutions should respect each other’s mandates, the Supreme Court ruled that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Founder Imran Khan was unable to establish that the revisions to the NAB ordinance were unconstitutional.

“The chief justice and Supreme Court judges are not the gatekeepers of parliament,” the judgement noted.

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