Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday said the government’s newly formed fact-finding commission, tasked with probing the 2017 sit-in by Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan at Faizabad, was empowered to summon the former prime minister, ex-army chief and then-CJP for investigation.
“The commission can call anyone for investigation … no one is exempt,” he stated.
The top judge’s remarks come as a three-member Supreme Court bench took up a set of review petitions filed against the SC’s 2019 judgement in the Faizabad dharna case. The bench, headed by Justice Isa, comprises Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aminuddin Khan.
Authored by Justice Isa years before he took oath as the chief justice, the searing judgement had instructed the defence ministry and the tri-services chiefs to penalise personnel under their command who were found to have violated their oath.
It had also directed the federal government to monitor those advocating hate, extremism and terrorism and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
Adverse observations were also made against several government departments for causing inconvenience to the public as the 20-day sit-in paralysed life in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Pleas were subsequently moved against the verdict by the Ministry of Defence, the Intelligence Bureau, the PTI, Pemra, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, AML chief Sheikh Rashid and Ijazul Haq. However, most of the petitioners withdrew their pleas, prompting the CJP to ask “why is everyone so afraid to speak the truth”.
During the previous hearing, former Pemra chief Absar Alam had made revelations on the interference of intelligence agencies and “media coercion” during the Faizabad sit-in.
In an order issued on the petitions earlier this week, the SC had stated that it expects the government to finalise the fact-finding probe on the sit-in within the specified time frame. It had also granted ECP a month to prepare and submit a report on the TLP and its funding. During today’s proceedings, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan informed the apex court that the federal government had formed a new fact-finding commission to probe the sit-in.
The new committee, comprising three members, is tasked with probing and identifying persons responsible for the sit-in and recommend legal action against them. It will submit its findings in a report to the federal government within two months.
At the outset of the hearing Wednesday, the court dismissed Rashid’s review petition after the AML chief appeared before the bench and said he wanted to withdraw his appeal.
Addressing the former minister, the top judge asked why Rashid had filed a petition when he wanted to withdraw it later. This case was stuck in a limbo for four years, the CJP remarked.
The AML chief said there were some “misunderstandings”.
Here, Justice Isa stated that petitions could not be filed on the “orders coming from above”, adding that “everyone knows the truth but no one is courageous to say it out loud”.
For his part, Rashid said it had become difficult to speak the truth these days and clarified that no one had forced him to file the review petition.
“This is not a joke that you will file petitions whenever you want to and withdraw them whenever you wish to,” the chief justice interjected. At the same time, he continued, the question also arises why the appeals were not fixed in such a long time.
“Was the Supreme Court being controlled by forces outside the court at that time?” Justice Isa asked. “First and foremost, we are to be held accountable.”
Subsequently, AGP Awan came to the rostrum and submitted the notification pertaining to the freshly formed fact-finding committee.
Justice Isa then said the court could not doubt the commission beforehand and subsequently dictated the order of the day.
