ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army said on Monday it had arrested former spymaster Lt. Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed and initiated court martial proceedings against him over allegations by the owner of a housing society of extortion, land grabbing and snatching valuables.
The army media wing said the military had held a detailed inquiry against Hameed, who is a former chief of Pakistan’s premier Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the management of the Top City housing society.
The petition, filed by the owner of Top City, Moeez Ahmed Khan (applicant), says the former ISI chief “misused” his office and under his direction, crimes were committed against Khan and his family, including raids on his residence and business offices and arrests of him and his family members.
The petition says the applicant and his family members were robbed of their properties, the applicant was robbed of his business properties and compelled to transfer his businesses into the names of those nominated by Hameed, and false cases were registered against the applicant, his family and employees.
“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),” the army’s media wing said. “Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd), under provisions of Pakistan Army Act.”
The statement said multiple instances of violation of the Pakistan Army Act post-retirement had also been established against Hameed, court martial proceedings had been initiated and he was now in military custody.
Hameed, who served as the ISI chief from June 2019 till October 2021, is widely seen to have been close to former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 on a slew of charges that he says are politically motivated.
In the past, Hameed, who retired from the army in December 2022, was widely accused by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of bringing down the government of his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, in 2017. The PML-N alleges Hameed worked with then opposition leader Imran Khan to plot Nawaz’s ouster through a series of court cases, culminating in the Supreme Court’s disqualifying of him from office in 2017 for failing to disclose income and ordering a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations.
Investigations against senior officers of the all-powerful army are extremely rare in Pakistan, where the military has ruled for almost half of the country’s history and wields extraordinary power even during periods of civilian rule.
Last month, a retired army officer, Lt. Col. Akbar Hussain, was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison for “inciting sedition among army personnel,” according to the Pakistani military.