Former Pakistani intelligence chief Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed failed to appear for a third time before a commission investigating a 2017 religious protest, prompting renewed summons for his January 2024 testimony.Despite two prior summons, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed again missed his hearing before a commission investigating the 2017 protest in Faizabad. He is now expected to testify in January 2024. The protest was spearheaded by extremist organisation, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). It was reported that the group enjoyed the patronage of the military, especially its intelligence wing, ISI, and the protest march had the backing of the intelligence agency. In 2019, the Supreme Court had come down heavily on various authorities including the army for letting TLP cause mayhem in the country in the name of blasphemy. The court said: The perception that ISI may be involved in or interferes with matters with which an intelligence agency should not be concerned with, including politics, therefore was not put to rest. Early this year, the Supreme Court had taken up the case for review and had expressed its concern and display about the tardy progress on the court’s directives. The government had then, largely to avoid any further court reprimand, declared to set up a commission to probe the delay in following the apex court’s directives. The summons were issued as part of this probe.
December 30,2023
Source: The News International