New Delhi: Former Pakistan spy chief Lt General Faiz Hameed (retd), who shot to fame with a picture of him holding a cup of tea in Afghanistan soon after the Taliban took control in 2021, has been arrested and is facing a court martial in Pakistan.
Hameed, who was once in the reckoning to be the new Army chief and is seen as a close confidant of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, has been arrested over corruption charges.
The development is a first in Pakistan’s history when a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head is facing court martial.
Sources in the Indian defence and security establishment said while the case was related to corruption, the real motive was current Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir’s crackdown on his detractors.
Lt General Hameed was forced to resign as ISI boss after General Munir took over in November 2022. Incidentally, it was Hameed who had replaced General Munir as ISI chief in 2018 after his tenure was abruptly cut short.
From being at the centre of a storm during the 2018 Pakistan elections to engineering the Faizabad agreement in 2017, Hameed has been controversy’s favourite child.
He was considered very influential and close to then Army chief General Qamar Bajwa. Both were from the Baloch regiment.
However, as time passed, relations soured as then PM Imran Khan wanted Hameed to be the new Army chief.
As someone in charge of the internal security wing of the ISI, Hameed is said to have engineered Khan’s victory by “fixing” the 2018 polls on his behalf.
After Khan was ousted, Hameed was among the six senior-most generals whose name was in the list of potential candidates for the two top military offices, and sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval in November 2022.
However, he put down his papers the moment General Munir was chosen. He is understood to have been put on a no-fly list by the military establishment and restrictions were also put on his movement.
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Charges against General Hameed
The management of a private housing scheme, Top City, accused the former ISI chief of orchestrating a raid on the offices and residence of its owner, Moeez Khan, taking away cash and gold.
In its written order issued on 14 November last year, Pakistan’s apex court said the allegations were of an “extremely serious nature”.
The order said: “The allegations… if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they cannot be left unattended.”
On Monday, a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said: “Complying with the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan, a detailed court of inquiry, was undertaken by Pakistan Army, to ascertain correctness of complaints in Top City case made against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd),”
It added: “Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd), under provisions of Pakistan Army Act.”
The ISPR further said: “In addition, multiple instances of violation of Pakistan Army Act post-retirement have also been established. The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody.”
The inquiry committee against General Hameed was formed in April this year, and termed as a “gesture of self accountability”.
In March 2023, then-interior minister Rana Sanaullah said a probe was underway against the ex-ISI boss and his brother over alleged corruption and for accumulating assets beyond their means.
In March this year, a Rawalpindi court sent his brother and retired naib tehsildar Najaf Hameed to judicial custody in the corruption case.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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That photograph is for the ages.