Former chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed (retd), was indicted on Tuesday (December 10) on multiple charges, according to the military.
Hamid was accused of “Involved in political activities“Misuse of authority and government resources, and violations of the Official Secrets Act. Pursuant to a in the morning In the report, he is alleged to have acted “at the behest of and in connivance with vested political interests”.
The announcement comes four months after court martial proceedings against him began.
The general, who was considered Pakistan’s top spymaster from June 2019 to November 2021, was considered close to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. He was in the running to succeed Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Hamid resigned in November 2022, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointing (then) Lt. Gen. Asim Munir to the top post.
A few weeks after the last US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban took power, Hamid, then the ISI chief, traveled to Kabul at the invitation of the country’s new rulers. He was seen having tea in a hotel with other Pakistani officials.
What are the charges against Lieutenant General Hamid?
The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) order against the retired general came after an adverse observation by the Supreme Court of Pakistan last year.
On November 14, 2023, the court, hearing a petition filed by the owner of a real estate company, said in a written order that the petitioner’s allegations against Hamid were “of a very serious nature, and if true, would undoubtedly be weak. The federal government, the armed forces, the ISI and Pakistan Rangers reputation.
“Therefore”, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa said, “they cannot be left out of consideration”, according to a report published by in the morning in time.
The petitioner, Moiz Ahmed Khan, owner of Top City Awas Yojana, a private housing society in Chowki Hamidan area of Islamabad, had accused Hamid and his associates of extortion.
In May 2017, when Hamid was a senior officer in the ISI, officials of the spy agency and personnel of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers raided Top City and Moiz’s house and allegedly took away gold and diamond jewellery. of terrorism.
The claimant said he was later forced to “pay Rs four crore in cash” and “sponsor a private TV network for a few months” in a deal brokered by Hamid’s brother Sardar Najaf. The petition named two ISI brigadiers accused of extorting Moiz.
What action was taken against Hamid, where is he now?
In April 2024, a Court of Inquiry was convened against Lt. Gen. Hameed, headed by a Major General of the Pakistan Army. A summary of evidence has resulted in a court martial.
In a press release, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said: “Following the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Pakistan Army conducted a detailed court inquiry to ascertain the veracity of the complaint in the top city case against Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed (retd)… Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed (retired), under the provisions of the Pakistan Army Act.
The retired general has been arrested. However, unlike civilians, he is not imprisoned. Hamid has been kept in the guest room of the Army Officers’ Mess in Rawalpindi, where an army officer and some troops have been deployed to guard him.
How many times has the Pakistan Army taken action against its senior officers, serving or retired?
Hamid is the third senior officer to have fouled the current army chief General Munir.
In April 2024, Lt. Gen. Ayman Bilal Safdar, GOC 1 Corps stationed in Mangala, Punjab, was forced to resign after the ISI recorded some critical comments he made about the army chief during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Lt Gen Safdar, an artillery officer, could shoot for the army chief’s post in 2025 if Gen Munir retires at the end of his three-year tenure.
Earlier, in May 2023, Lt. Gen. Salman Fayaz Ghani, then GOC 4 Corps Lahore, was sacked after cadres of Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party vandalized the Flag Staff House, the official residence of the GOC.
in the morning A Pakistani military court convicted three-star and two-star generals of espionage and mutiny in 2019 and 1995, respectively. Several other military officers were also indicted in the latter case. In some other cases, instead of court-martialing general officers, the army removed them after disciplinary proceedings, in the morning said
This is an updated version of the one the interpreter Published in August 2024.
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