- Govt agrees to demand for formation of national grievance redressal committee to take up complaints regarding anti-criminal and anti-terrorism operations across Pakistan and in FATA, including cases of enforced disappearances
- Proposed committee will comprise five members headed by a retired judge or bureaucrat ‘with an impeccable reputation’
- Formal announcement to be made after PM Sharif’s approval
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will take back its resignations from parliament and the Sindh Assembly as soon as the government formally notifies the formation of a national forum to redress the public’s grievances regarding the ongoing operation against militant and criminal mafia groups in Karachi and elsewhere in the country.
The MQM has been insisting on the formation of a monitoring committee to oversee the Karachi operation – a demand the federal government was reluctant to meet due to the reservations of the military leadership, Pakistan Today has learnt.
A source privy to the development confided to Pakistan Today that the government team headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and a six-member MQM delegation led by Senator Farooq Sattar had agreed to form a five-member grievances redressal committee which would provide a forum to anyone who wants to file a complaint against the military operation.
“The agreement has been reached but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is yet to endorse it. The formal announcement would be made upon the arrival of the prime minister from Kazakhstan,” the source said, adding that the MQM would then announce the return of their members to parliament and the Sindh Assembly.
The source further claimed that the proposed grievance committee would also admit complaints regarding missing persons from across the country, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The source told Pakistan Today that the MQM leadership has also sent signals to the army leadership about its intention to smash its militant wing if criminal elements in other parties are also taken to task.
“Altaf Hussain has also conveyed to the military leadership that all efforts to create splinter groups within the MQM should be stopped else the MQM might take any extreme decision,” the source said, adding that the military establishment might just give MQM a chance to live up to its commitment.
Grievances Committee:
Under the agreed formula, the grievances committee would either be headed by a retired judge of the superior courts or any retired bureaucrat with impeccable track record.
The source said that both the sides had agreed over the nomination of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid for the slot of chairman of the grievances committee. However, the source added when the government approached the veteran judge, Nasir Aslam Zahid refused to take the charge of the committee.
The government is involved in the head-hunting process again and some names have been proposed but the final nomination would be approved by the prime minister while the MQM leadership would also be taken into confidence over the matter. The MQM has also submitted a list of some retired judges and bureaucrats to be included in the committee.
The source said that JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman had played a key role in convincing the federal government and the MQM and it was also his suggestion to formulate a national body which should also cover the cases of missing persons in FATA and Balochistan.
“Fazl cleverly got included complaints about LEAs in the operations being carried out in Balochistan, KP and Sindh. He also proposed to include the issue of missing persons in the TORs,” the source added.
Under the agreed terms of reference (ToRs) for the committee, the other four members would come from various professional backgrounds and one member of the committee could be picked from the journalist community.
The committee would take up any sort of complaint against the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for violating professional duties during any operation, ‘disappearing’ the suspects, or breaching the law.
“Any citizen from any province would be able to register a complaint. However, those areas where the LEAs are conducting their operations would be given preference,” the source said.
Demand for monitoring committee rejected:
The source said that the federal government was of the view that it had no authority to form a monitoring committee for any specific province by bypassing the provincial government.
“Moreover, the word monitoring committee is inappropriate as it conveys an impression as if the committee would supervise the operation. The federal government does not want to convey any negative message to anyone”, the source said.
The source added that it was decided after a through debate that a forum should be in place to register complaints during the operation against the criminals and terrorists and if any misappropriate action is carried out, the committee would take up the matter with the proper forum and would ensure that the grievances of complainants are redressed.
The government spokesman was unavailable for comment on the proposed committee.
