Islamabad, Nov 1 (PTI) Dismissing it as an “eyewash,” Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a committee formed by the government to probe the 2017 sit-in by a hardline religious group and directed it to form another panel to probe those responsible for it.
The government had informed the court on October 27 that it set up a fact-finding commission for the 2017 sit-in by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) at Islamabad’s Faizabad interchange against the alleged changes in the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) oath for lawmakers by the government.
The then government had claimed that the amendment to the oath was a “clerical error” and was subsequently rectified through an act of Parliament.
However, the 20-day sit-in by the group caused massive inconvenience to the public as it paralysed life in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
At the start of the hearing today, Attorney General Mansoor Awan stated that a fact-finding committee had been constituted on October 19 and then read out the notification that the three-member committee is responsible for ensuring compliance with directions included in the 2019 judgement.
However, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa said the exercise was an “eyewash” and the “real thing” was missing from it. “When everyone is withdrawing their review petitions, the terms of reference of the committee are synonymous to dust in the eyes.”
After raising questions over the status of the committee, the chief justice declared it illegal. “This committee too is illegal,” the CJ stated and then asked why the inquiry was not conducted under the Inquiry Commission Act.
After the bench rejected the fact-finding committee, it directed the government to form another committee to probe those responsible for the Faizabad dharna, which was a major embarrassment for the government.
Chief Justice Isa, who was then the justice for the case, in his 2019 verdict in the sit-in case had ordered, among other steps, the formation of a probe committee to know the real reason behind the protest. The searing judgement had also instructed the defence ministry and the tri-services chiefs to penalise personnel under their command who were found to have violated their oath.
It also directed the federal government to monitor those advocating hate, extremism, and terrorism and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
The decision had upset the government and the powerful establishment and a case of alleged corruption was filed against Isa in the Supreme Court, which after hearing rejected the charges.
Several review petitions, including by the Ministry of Defence, the Intelligence Bureau, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party as well by former minister Sheikh Rashid and Ijazul Haq (who is the son of former dictator Ziaul Haq) were also filed against the original judgment.
The review petitions remained in the cold storage but Isa, after becoming the chief justice, decided to hear them. He formed a three-member bench — including himself and fellow judges, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, which on September 28 heard a set of review petitions challenging the apex court’s verdict.
Earlier, the chief justice while taking up the review petitions last month had said if his judgment had been implemented, acts like the Jaranwala incident, involving Muslims attacking Christians, could have been avoided.
The incident was sparked in August by a rumour of blasphemy in Jaranwala town of Punjab.