Former DG ISI Faiz Hameed has been placed into military prison, and a court martial procedure has begun in connection with the Top City housing project controversy, the army’s media wing announced on Monday.
This is the first time in the country’s history that a court martial has been ordered against a former spymaster.
According to a news statement released by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army conducted a thorough court of investigation to determine the validity of the accusations filed against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) in the Top City case.
The statement continued: “Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd), under provisions of Pakistan Army Act.”
“In addition, several cases of violation of the Pakistan Army Act after retirement have been revealed. “The Field General Court Martial process has begun, and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been placed in military custody,” the ISPR added.
In April, the military allegedly organized an investigative committee to look into charges of abuse of authority leveled against the former chief of Inter Services Intelligence.
According to media sources, the military organized the committee as a show of self-accountability, and it will be led by a serving major general.
They had stated that the committee was created in response to Supreme Court and Ministry of Defence directions.
In a written judgment issued on November 14, the Supreme Court stated that charges of a “extremely serious nature” against ex-spymaster retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed “cannot be left unattended” because they would weaken the credibility of the country’s institutions if proven true.
The directive was worded as follows: “The allegations are 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, they cannot be left unattended.”
The administration of Top City, a private housing estate, made serious claims against the former ISI commander, saying that he ordered a raid on the offices and house of its owner, Moeez Khan.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court directed the owner of the housing society to seek the appropriate authorities, including the military ministry, to resolve his claims against the former spymaster and his assistants.
The newly formed inquiry group would create a report based on its findings and deliver it to the appropriate authorities, according to the reports.
In March 2023, then-interior minister Rana Sanaullah stated that an investigation was ongoing against the former ISI commander and his brother for suspected corruption and asset accumulation beyond their means.
In March 2024, a Rawalpindi court sent retired naib tehsildar Najaf Hameed, the former spymaster’s brother, to Adiala prison on a 14-day judicial detention. Najaf and his co-accused had sought pre-arrest bail in a FIR filed with the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Rawalpindi. The FIR claimed that former Minister of Mineral Resources Hafiz Ammar Yasir purchased properties worth billions of rupees in the name of benamidars.
Retirement and contentious past
According to anonymous sources, Gen Hameed decided to retire early and submitted his resignation to the high command in November 2022. He was appointed chief of the ISI in June 2019.
He was one of six senior generals whose names were included by General Headquarters in a list of probable candidates for the two highest military positions, which was given to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval in November 2022.
Gen Hameed held the same job in Peshawar prior to taking over as Bahawalpur Corps Commander.
For the past decade, the former spymaster has been at the center of several political crises.
Gen Hameed’s name initially came to public attention after he helped terminate the Faizabad dharna by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan in November 2017 through an accord.
In a suo motu notice of the occurrence, the Supreme Court decided in February 2019 that the ISI, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, and Inter-Services Public Relations “must not exceed their respective mandates”.
He has been heavily criticized by PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for allegedly playing a part in their convictions and for supporting the former PTI regime.
In July 2018, former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui made severe claims against security agency workers, stating that they were influencing court procedures. He further said that the agencies asked the IHC chief judge to ensure that Nawaz and Maryam stayed behind bars throughout the elections. The judge was later fired.
However, in December 2023, he appointed several retired army generals and former judges as participants in the action against his removal.
On behalf of the ex-judge, senior counsel Hamid Khan filed an amended application with the Supreme Court, naming former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, Gen Hameed, three retired brigadiers — Irfan Ramay, Faisal Marwat, and Tahir Wafai — as respondents in his petition, as well as a former chief justice of the IHC, Anwar Khan Kasi, and a former registrar of the Supreme Court, Arbab Muhammad Arif.
In his answer to the petition, Gen Hameed denied any role in the formation of the IHC benches to prolong Nawaz and Maryam’s arrest, stating that the court had pulled him into the matter without justification.
Petition
According to the lawsuit, on May 12, 2017, Pakistan Rangers and ISI personnel searched Top City’s office and Moeez’s apartment, seizing items including as gold and diamond jewelry and money in connection with a terrorist case.
The petition further said that Gen Hameed’s brother, Sardar Najaf, intervened and attempted to fix the situation. According to the petition, after his acquittal, Gen Hameed contacted Moeez through the latter’s cousin, an army brigadier, to set up a meeting.
The petition said that during the meeting, Gen Hameed promised the petitioner that he would restore part of the things confiscated during the raid, with the exception of 400 tola gold and cash.
According to the plea, retired brigadiers Naeem Fakhar and Ghaffar of the ISI reportedly “forced” the petitioner to “pay 4 crores in cash” and “sponsor a private AAP TV network for a few months”.
According to the suit, former ISI officials Irtaza Haroon, Sardar Najaf, Wasim Tabish, Zahid Mehmood Malik, and Mohammad Munir were all “involved in the illegal takeover of the housing society”. – supernews.pk
Iqra Khan