In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday announced former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed had been placed in military custody and court martial proceedings initiated against him for misuse of authority and “multiple” violations of the Pakistan Army Act post-retirement.
The occurrence, targeting a former head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency for the first time in the country’s history, has sparked speculation over whether Hameed is paying the price for his past—much-publicized—alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. As prime minister, Khan had personally chosen Hameed to head the ISI after securing the ouster of Gen. Asim Munir, now the Chief of Army Staff.
On the face of it, however, Hameed’s detention stems from a 2017 scandal involving a private housing development in Islamabad. “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 the Top City case made against Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed,” read the ISPR statement. In his petition before the apex court, Top City owner Moeez Ahmed Khan has alleged Hameed, in connivance with his brother, attempted to acquire ownership of his housing development by arresting and blackmailing him. Declaring the matter “very serious,” a three-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa had directed the Defense Ministry and Army to take action. Subsequently, the military launched its own inquiry, which culminated in Hameed’s detention.
The former general served as DG ISI from 2019 to 2021, and gained global notoriety for abandoning the secrecy enshrined in spy craft when he reached Kabul shortly after the Afghan Taliban took control after the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the country. He was widely considered the heir apparent to then-Army chief Gen. (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, with multiple sources alleging he was Imran Khan’s top choice for the slot—though the PTI leader has publicly denied any such intent. Whatever Khan’s plans for Bajwa’s successor, they proved for naught after he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022, months before the appointment of the next Army chief. In the months leading up to the appointment, Khan waged a campaign of defiance against the military, eventually being arrested on May 9, 2023, triggering nationwide riots that saw the destruction of civil and military installations alike. But while Hameed’s arrest has already made history, it remains to be seen whether it would prove a deterrent to Pakistan Army generals interfering in the country’s governance in future.