The three-member inquiry commission, headed by former inspector-general of police (IGP) Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, conducted the inquiry. It prepared the report after reviewing the motives behind the Faizabad sit-in organised by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in 2017.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, and former Intelligence Bureau (IB) DG Aftab Sultan denied the role of the institution, or the role of an individual of the institution, in facilitating the Faizabad sit-in.

The report states that on November 22, 2017, the then-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi gave a mandate to Faiz Hameed, who was the Director General Counterintelligence (DGC) in the ISI, to resolve the matter. It adds that Faiz Hameed, as the major general and ISI DGC, was tasked with signing an agreement with the protesters.

The commission’s report also states that the then-army chief and the ISI DG had also permitted Faiz Hameed for the agreement.

In the report, the inquiry commission emphasises ensuring the implementation of all the points of the National Action Plan (NAP), stating that weaknesses in the command and control system of the police should also be carefully analysed.

It also states that policymakers must learn from the Faizabad sit-in, adding that incidents like the Faizabad sit-in are fueled by lapses in government policy.

The commission in its report also says that instead of stopping the TLP march in Lahore, the Punjab government allowed it to go to Islamabad. “A lack of communication between the police of the twin cities led to deaths and hundreds of injuries,” it adds.