Former chief (Director General) of Pakistan’s influential military intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Faiz Hamid has been arrested.
He was arrested on Monday (August 12) on suspicion of involvement in a housing corruption case, the country’s army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
After independence, Pakistan has been under military rule or the military has controlled power for more than 30 of the last 77 years. This incident of arresting a top military officer in Pakistan is quite unusual.
Former ISI chief Faiz Hamid has been arrested on orders of the Supreme Court, the country’s army said. In a statement, the army said that Hamid had committed multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after his retirement.
The statement said, “Field General Court Martial proceedings have been initiated and Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid (retd) has been taken into military custody.”
According to Pakistani media, Faiz Hamid was arrested because he raided housing societies while he was in charge of the ISI and illegally occupied the land there. Besides, more valuable assets were stolen.
Petitioner Moiz Ahmed Khan complained that during the raid in the housing society, 4 colleagues and I were arrested and detained.
Therefore, I request the central government to take legal action against former ISI chief (retired) Faiz Hamid and his brother Najaf.
The hearing was held in a bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz and two other judges. After the hearing, the bench took cognizance of the complaint and on November 8, 2023 directed the appropriate authorities to take legal action against former ISI chief Faiz Hamid.
Faiz Hamid served as Director General of ISI from 2019 to 2021.
After the withdrawal of US and other Western forces from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban took control of the country. The former ISI chief was the talk of the world while drinking tea in a hotel lobby in Kabul shortly after the country’s armed group took over Afghanistan.
Since 2001, Washington has been accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI of helping the Taliban during the US-led Western military presence in Afghanistan. The ISI chief is generally considered the second most powerful military officer in Pakistan after the army chief.
At that time, Hamid was also considered close to former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Hamid was appointed as ISI chief by Imran Khan when he was Prime Minister. However, Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, blamed the country’s military for his ouster. However, Pakistan’s military denied this allegation of Imran Khan.
Source: The Dawn, Reuters
