In an unprecedented move, the Pakistan Army on Monday announced that it has arrested former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and initiated court martial proceedings against him in connection with a housing scheme scam.
“Following the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, a detailed investigation was conducted by the Pakistan Army to ascertain the veracity of the complaints made against Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed (retd) in the Top City case,” the army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
It said, “As a result, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed (retired) under the provisions of the Pakistan Army Act.”
“Furthermore, several cases of violation of Pakistan Army Act after retirement have also come to light. Field General Court Martial proceedings have been initiated and Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed (retd) has been taken into military custody,” it said.
Lt Gen (retd) Hameed was considered extremely powerful when he headed the spy agency from 2019 to 2021.
He was appointed to this prestigious post when the then ISI chief and current Army Chief Lieutenant General Asim Munir was removed from the post prematurely. It was then reported that the then Prime Minister Imran Khan was not happy with Munir.
Later, the army decided to replace Mr Hameed, which was strongly opposed by Imran Khan and is believed to have been the beginning of a souring of his relations with the powerful military.
The Top City case came into the limelight when on 8 November 2023, Top City owner Moiz Ahmed Khan filed a petition in the Supreme Court, in which he accused Mr. Hameed of abusing his position.
He said in the petition that on May 12, 2017, at the behest of General Hameed, ISI officials raided his top office in the city and his house and seized valuables including gold, diamonds and money.
He also said that Mr Hameed’s brother Sardar Najaf also later contacted him to resolve the issue. The petition also claims that General Hameed later met him personally to resolve the issue.
He alleged that ISI officials extorted Rs 4 crore in cash from him.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Attar Minullah and Justice Aminuddin, heard the case and decided to refer it to the Ministry of Defence to investigate the allegation.
The Army had announced in April this year that it had constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by a Major General to probe the allegations.
Mr Hameed took premature retirement in November 2022, four months before his retirement date, after the current Army Chief took over. He was considered close to the then Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.
The post of ISI chief is considered one of the most important positions in the Pakistani military, which has ruled for more than half of the country’s more than 76 years of existence and has wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
