New Delhi: A military court in Pakistan Thursday sentenced Faiz Hameed, former chief of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Army Act. The first spymaster in Pakistan to be court-martialed, he was in custody since August 2024.
Cases against Hameed—whose picture holding a teacup in Kabul signalled Pakistan’s role in Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan—had been ongoing since 2023. A Field General Court Martial in Pakistan Thursday officially declared him guilty on multiple charges, including political interference, violations of the Official Secrets Act, and misuse of authority.
Allegations against Hameed, who is seen as an ally of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, stem from actions that coincided with a period of political upheaval in Pakistan. This period was marked by the military’s fraught relationship with Imran and fallout from the Taliban’s return to power following the hurried withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Faiz Hameed was initially drawn into a case where the owner of Islamabad’s Top City housing society accused him of extortion, but the case quickly broadened into an inquiry touching on the army’s internal politics and the final years of the Imran administration.
Hameed was reportedly compelled to take premature retirement from the military in 2022, shortly after Asim Munir was appointed Army Chief. In 2019, Hameed had replaced Munir—now Field Marshal and Chief of Defence Forces—as ISI chief after the latter’s tenure was cut short.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the process of Field General Court Martial against Hameed spanned over 15 months.
The Pakistan military also signalled its intent to probe Hameed’s alleged role in political agitations, including the unrest that unfolded immediately after Imran’s arrest on 9 May, 2023. “The convict has the right of appeal at a relevant forum … The involvement of the convict in fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cohorts with political elements and in certain other matters is separately being dealt with,” ISPR said.
In September, two retired Brigadiers, Naeem Fakhar and Ghaffar, turned approvers in the Top City case against Hameed.
Accusations against the former ISI chief range from coercing payments from property developers to exploiting his position for political engineering, including alleged involvement in judicial manipulation and support for Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Once viewed as close to both former Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and Imran, Faiz Hameed is suspected to have played a key role in the 2018 general election that brought Imran to power. His appointment as ISI chief in 2019 had led to tensions between Imran and the military top brass at the time.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, described the punishment handed out to Hameed as evidence that “no one is above the law”. He also accused Hameed of acting as a political adviser to Imran’s PTI and helping sow instability.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif welcomed the ruling, suggesting Pakistan would continue to face the consequences of what he characterised as years of political manipulation under Hameed and former Army chief Bajwa.
Former PTI senator Faisal Vawda, too, praised the judgment as the beginning of a deeper purge. “If the armed forces are not sparing one of their own,” he remarked, “do you think others will remain safe?”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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