Ex-ISI chief who went to Kabul after Taliban takeover, arrested: reasons and context

The general, who was Pakistan’s top spymaster from June 2019 to November 2021, was considered close to the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and was in the running to succeed Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as Pakistan Army Chief.

Hameed resigned in November 2022, soon after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed (then) Lt Gen Asim Munir to the top post.

A couple of weeks after the last American soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took power in August 2021, Hameed, who was then ISI chief, visited Kabul on the invitation of the country’s new rulers. He was seen along with other Pakistani officials, having tea in a hotel.

What are the allegations against Lt Gen Hameed?

The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) against the retired general has been ordered following adverse observations made by the Supreme Court of Pakistan about nine months ago.

On November 14, 2023, the court, which was hearing a petition filed by the owner of a real estate company, said in a written order that the allegations made by the petitioner against Hameed were “of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers”.

“Therefore”, the three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa said, “they cannot be left unattended”, according to a report published by Dawn at the time.

The petitioner, one Moeez Ahmed Khan, the owner of Top City housing scheme, a private housing society in the Chowki Hameedan area of Islamabad, had accused Hameed and his associates of extortion.

It was alleged that in May 2017, when Hameed was a senior officer in the ISI, officials of the spy agency and personnel of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers raided the offices of Top City and Moeez’s home and took away gold and diamond jewellery after falsely accusing him of terrorism.

The petitioner said that he was subsequently forced to “pay Rs 4 crore in cash” and “sponsor a private TV network for a few months” in a deal brokered by Hameed’s brother, Sardar Najaf. Two Brigadiers of the ISI were named in the petition for having allegedly coerced Moeez.

What action has been taken against Hameed, and where is he now?

In April 2024, a Court of Inquiry headed by a Major General of the Pakistan Army was convened against Lt Gen Hameed. The Summary of Evidence has culminated in the court martial.

In a press release, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said: “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)…

“Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd), under provisions of Pakistan Army Act.”

The retired general has been put under arrest. However, unlike civilians, he has not been put in jail. Hameed has been housed in a guest room of an Army officers’ mess in Rawalpindi, with an Army officer and some troops deputed to guard him.

In what positions did Hameed serve during his military career?

Hameed was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army in 1987, and he is a course-mate of Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Hameed served in 56th battalion of the Baloch Regiment, and on promotion to the rank of Major General, commanded the 16 Infantry Division in Pano Aqil in Southern Sindh. Subsequently, he was posted to ISI as DG Counter Intelligence.

Hameed came into the limelight during the November 2017 dharna by the far right Barelvi Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Hameed was accused of having engineered the three-week sit-in at the Faizabad interchange that paralysed the Pakistani capital and triggered violence at several places in the country. The general was subsequently cleared of the accusations.

On promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, Hameed was appointed as Adjutant General in General Headquarters of Pakistan Army in June 2019. Three months later, he was appointed DG ISI, replacing Gen Asim Munir, the current Army Chief. Imran was Prime Minister at the time, having won the July 2018 election with the backing of the Army.

Hameed was considered close to then Army Chief Gen Bajwa. However, Bajwa removed him as DG ISI in October 2021, apparently after differences between them grew, and sent him as GOC 11 Corps Peshawar. Imran, who has acknowledged that he would have liked Hameed to stay on as ISI chief, opposed the transfer, but eventually gave in.

In August 2022, Hameed was again removed from his post and transferred as GOC 31 Corps in Gujranwala. Hameed remained there until he retired.

Gen Bajwa himself is in the crosshairs of the current military establishment. There is some talk in Pakistan that Hameed is being punished for refusing to testify against Imran. Some commentators have said that in Pakistan’s topsy-turvy politics, Hameed has an eye on the possibility of Imran’s fortunes changing for the better.

How often has Pakistan’s Army acted against its senior officers, serving or retired?

Hameed is the third senior officer to have run foul of Gen Munir.

In April 2024, Lt Gen Ayman Bilal Safdar, the GOC 1 Corps stationed at Mangla in Punjab, was forced to resign after the ISI recorded some critical comments he made about the Army Chief during a visit to Saudi Arabia. An Artillery officer, Lt Gen Safdar could have had a shot at the office of Army Chief in 2025 if Gen Munir retires at the end of his three-year term.

Before that, in May 2023, Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghani, then GOC 4 Corps at Lahore, was sacked after Flag Staff House, the GOC’s official residence, was vandalised by workers of Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party.

Dawn reported that Pakistani military courts have convicted a three-star and a two-star general for espionage and mutiny in 2019 and 1995 respectively. Several other military officers were also indicted in the latter case. In a number of other cases, instead of court-martialling general officers, the military removed them after disciplinary proceedings, Dawn said.