New Delhi: Pakistan’s former spy chief Lt General Faiz Hameed (retd), against whom court-martial proceedings were initiated by the military last year, is in the headlines again as two retired brigadiers become approvers in a graft case against him.
Hameed, once seen as a confidant of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, was last year formally charged and indicted for political interference, corruption, misuse of state resources, and violations of the Official Secrets Act. Proceedings against him were held under rarely-invoked provisions of the Pakistan Army Act. It was for the first time in Pakistan’s history that a former ISI head faced court martial proceedings.
While on the surface Hameed was embroiled in a corruption case involving real estate, the saga was seen as a power tussle between the Pakistan Army and the former PM. Hameed was even accused of engineering the 2018 elections in favour of Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder, while Khan was believed to have wanted him to be the Pakistan Army chief.
Now, retired officers Brigadier Naeem Fakhar and Brigadier Ghaffar, both once seen as aides of Hameed, have reportedly turned approvers against him in the housing graft case. Both men served under Hameed during his controversial tenure as Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. All three are now in military custody.
Naeem was allegedly appointed as the “focal person” for the construction of a theme park linked to Malik Riaz, a controversial real estate tycoon and founder of Bahria Town (once under the Pakistan Navy), seen as the largest privately-held real estate development company in Asia. He is also accused of helping install Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Sardar Tanveer Ilyas as PM of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, according to media reports.
Brigadier Ghaffar, former deputy director general for projects in the ISI under Hameed, was linked to development work in Latifal, a village near Pakistan’s Chakwal district and Hameed’s hometown. He is believed to have benefited from Bahria Town’s involvement in the project.
According to media reports, the infrastructure in Latifal—wide roads, hospitals and high-end facilities—became a focal point of inquiry into whether Bahria Town provided favours in exchange for military protection or influence.
Malik Riaz, meanwhile, was implicated in the Al Qadir Trust case for allegedly giving land to Imran Khan as quid pro quo for settlement of dues. Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were later convicted in the case.
According to government officials in Pakistan, the Pakistan Army wanted Riaz to become an “approver” as well in the graft case against Khan but he refused to do so and instead left the nation.
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Case against Hameed
Hameed, who shot to fame with a picture of him holding a cup of tea in Afghanistan soon after the Taliban took control in 2021, stands accused of exploiting his powers as ISI chief and conducting raids in 2017 on Top City, a private housing society in Pakistan.
The complainant, Kanwar Mooez Khan, who was the owner of the project, alleged that the ISI and Pakistan Rangers seized valuables, including cash and gold, in the guise of a terrorism investigation.
The action was reportedly initiated by Hameed on a complaint by Zahida Javed Aslam, a British national of Pakistani origin who accused Moeez of fraudulently transferring ownership of the project’s land into his own name.
After Moeez was acquitted of terrorism charges by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, he alleged that Hameed reached out to him through a cousin, Sardar Najaf, a serving Brigadier in the army, to arrange a meeting, according to reports in the Pakistani media.
During that meeting, according to Moeez, Hameed offered to return the seized items, excluding 400 tolas of gold and a portion of the cash. Moeez further alleged in a petition in court that officers Naeem Fakhar and Ghaffar (now turned approvers) coerced him into paying 40 million rupees in cash and funding a private television channel for several months.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the matter in 2023, directing Mooez to seek action through the Ministry of Defence. The military, in turn, initiated an internal inquiry in the case, leading to Hameed’s arrest. This was after Asim Munir had taken over as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff.
Hameed was reportedly compelled to take premature retirement from the military in 2022, shortly after Munir was appointed as Army Chief. Ironically, it was Hameed who had replaced Munir as ISI chief back in 2019, after Munir’s tenure was abruptly cut short.
Bonhomie at the top
Hameed was widely regarded as influential within the military hierarchy and was considered close to former Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Both officers belonged to the Baloch Regiment. However, their relationship reportedly deteriorated when Imran Khan began lobbying for Hameed to be appointed as the next Pakistan Army chief.
Hameed was also at the centre of a reported standoff between the military and Khan’s PTI government over the appointment of a new ISI chief in late 2021.
In October 2021, the Pakistan Army announced that Hameed would be posted as Corps Commander Peshawar, while Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum would replace him as ISI director general.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office delayed issuing the official notification for Anjum’s appointment by several weeks, sparking speculation about tensions between the civilian government and the military leadership, according to media reports.
Eventually, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Anjum’s appointment. Following Khan’s ouster in 2022, Hameed was among six senior officers considered for the top military leadership role. But once Asim Munir was selected, Hameed opted for retirement.
Imran Khan later insisted he had no intention of appointing his own army chief and denied “meddling” in the Pakistan Army’s internal matters.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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