The Dharna Commission Report should have elaborated on who initiated the introduction of the amendment in the Election Act 2017, which replaced the declaration from “I solemnly swear...” with “I believe...”. It should have also investigated whether the bill was properly vetted by the relevant National Assembly or Senate Committee, and who were the end beneficiaries of this change.
Furthermore, the report should have examined how and why the government and parliament succumbed to pressure from a specific group and decided to roll back the amendment on October 19, 2017 and why despite the rollback, the TLP, a newly formed political party, continued its protest.
The commission was tasked with determining why TLP was allowed to occupy the ‘Faizabad Interchange’, which serves as the main entry-exit point to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, leading to the disruption of daily commuting for hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
Specifically, the commission was to investigate why TLP demanded the removal of the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and subsequently called for the resignation of the government itself.
The commission was also expected to examine the constraints, impediments, and compulsion faced by the government, which has the police, rangers, and the sixth-largest army in the world at its disposal, to become hostage to TLP, an unknown entity at the time.
It was to inquire into why the government failed to enforce the law of the land and protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, allowing the mob to disrupt the functioning of the Supreme Court, preventing judges, litigants, deputy attorney generals, and counsels from attending court.
Furthermore, the commission was to investigate why the government failed to protect the public’s ability to commute, attend courts, schools, colleges, universities, and their places of work, as well as why it failed to ensure that patients, doctors, nurses, and ambulances could reach hospitals.
The commission was also tasked with determining why the government was unable to prevent the spread of protests to other cities and towns, effectively leading to a nationwide lockdown.
Lastly, the commission was to examine why relevant laws were not invoked when TLP was making hate speeches and inciting disaffection towards the Federal or Provincial Government, an offence of sedition punishable by imprisonment for life.
The commission was expected to inquire into why the TLP protestors were allowed to charge the police contingent, resulting in serious injuries to a hundred and seventy-three officers.
It should have investigated who trained them to cut the wires of all relevant cameras installed within the jurisdiction of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as well as the cables of CCTV cameras around the sit-in places, which were used to monitor their activities.
Furthermore, the commission should have examined why the media provided unabated coverage to TLP and allowed anyone with grievances against the government to join in. It should have looked into why relevant parties did not stop their leaders, such as Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed (Chairman AML), Ejaz-ul-Haq (PML-Z), PTI Ulema Wing Islamabad, and Sheikh Hameed (PPP), from making inflammatory speeches.
Qamar Bashir
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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