It has now been requested that Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed record his statement during the second week of January 2024.
ISLAMABAD: Due to his non-appearance before the commission on Friday, former director general (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid has once again missed the hearing of the Faizabad Dharna Inquiry Commission (FDIC).
The former head of ISI has been absent from the inquiry commission’s hearing for the second time this year; sources said that he was called in the second week of December and again on December 29.
According to the sources, the commission has consequently sent the former spy chief a second summons through the Defense Ministry, directing him to assist with the investigation.
For the third time, the former head of ISI has now been asked to record his statement during the second week of January 2024.
Gen (retd) Faiz is being called to testify regarding the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)-organized sit-in that took place at the Faizabad flyover in Islamabad in November 2017.
According to the sources, Joint Director General Intelligence Bureau (IB) Sajid Kiani recorded a three-hour statement before the inquiry commission on December 19, during which he denied any involvement at all from any other institution in the TLP operation.
During the Faizabad sit-in in 2017, Sajid Kiani was the senior superintendent of police (Operations) in Islamabad.
The probe panel, led by retired IGP Akhtar Ali Shah, was established by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on its own initiative following the court’s rejection of the government-appointed fact-finding committee report.
More From FactFile: Faizabad sit-in: SC rejects govt’s fact-finding committee
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had stated on November 15 that the commission would have the authority to call anyone, including prime ministers, chief justices, and former army chiefs.
It is noteworthy that the commission has also investigated senior officials serving in Islamabad and Punjab who were involved in the episode, including former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, secretary to PM Fawad Hasan Fawad, and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
