• CJP Isa says commission castigated politicians instead of holding perpetrators accountable
• Govt response to findings sought
• AGP says report lacks substance

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday took exception to the findings of the Faizabad sit-in commission which ventured into areas not part of its mandate instead of sticking to its terms of reference (ToR) and seemingly used its authority to “settle some personal scores”.

Dismayed by the report of the three-man commission, formed in Nov 2023, submitted to the top court on March 6 in eight volumes, the bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa said the report was sheer waste of time of the nation.

The bench also asked the attorney general, Mansoor Usman Awan, to furnish a response in two weeks highlighting whether or not the federal government endorsed the commission’s findings.

The federal government will also determine whether or not to make the report public. The AGP said that in his personal opinion, the commission’s report did not contain much substance and largely did not attend to the ToR provided to it by the government.

The Supreme Court also ordered to provide copies of the initial observations made by the bench to the members of the commission and if they wanted to respond, they should either submit in writing or appear in person before the court.

The commission consists of former IGPs Dr Syed Akhtar Ali Shah (chairman) and Tahir Alam Khan, and serving Additional Secretary Interior Khushal Khan.

After lengthy proceedings, the CJP observed it was disappointing to note the element of provincialism which has crept into the report in which it castigated those politicians who were at the helm at the time but disregarded the perpetrators of violence. “This is highly a political document written to settle some personal scores,” the CJP bemoaned while referring to the commission’s report.

During the hearing, the AGP read out the ToRs as well as the respective findings of the commission on each ToR along with its conclusions and recommendations. At this, the court said that the commission deviated from its mandate.

The court said it has also noted that all individuals who appeared before the court were not treated equally or similarly since the statements of some were recorded on oath whereas some (ex-spymaster Faiz Hameed) were sent questionnaires.

Surprisingly, no Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) member was ever summoned to record their statement besides the commission somehow assumed the jurisdiction – that too incorrectly – that the right to protest or travelling to Islamabad to register their protest was something prohibited by the Constitution, the court said, adding even the Supreme Court’s Feb 2019 judgement said otherwise.

Moreover, the commission did not consider the judgement as well as subsequent orders passed in this regard, especially when the earlier judgement had noted the right to protest so long it remained peaceful and within the confines of the laws.

The Supreme Court regretted that under the ToR, the commission was supposed to find out the illegal financial support extended to the TLP, but it relied on the answers provided by retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in his response to the questionnaire.

The court regretted that on the one hand, the ISI claimed that it was not its job to check terror financing, but on the other, the authorities blocked the identity cards of some importers and exporters on the ISI’s reports about possible terror financing, said Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, adding that as a result the Afghan Transit Trade had come to a halt.

The state needed to be assertive otherwise no government could sustain its writ, observed Justice Afghan.

“The right to protest is a part of democracy but the right to kill is not. Those who do so must be taken to task,” the chief justice observed.

He said that the commission had put the entire blame on the Punjab government as if they had some scores to settle but did not say anything against the protestors. The bench added that had the government been vigilant after the Supreme Court judgments in the May 12, 2007 killings in Karachi or 2014 dharna cases, incidents like May 9, 2023 could have been avoided.

“There is no mention of TLP workers in the report. The statements of those who sent breakfast and food are on the record.” CJP Isa highlighted that the TLP workers’ statements were the only ones not recorded by the commission.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2024