Ex-ISI chief Faiz Hameed in military custody

RAWALPINDI: The process of field general court martial has been initiated against retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, former director general  of ISI, who has been taken into military custody, the ISPR said on Monday.

“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),” said the ISPR in a statement.

“Consequently, appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd), under provisions of Pakistan Army Act.” In addition, multiple instances of violation of Pakistan Army Act post retirement have also been established.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said the move to take the retired general into custody would enhance the respect and prestige of the armed forces. He said certainly army’s inquiry would have proved some of the allegations against Hameed.

He said that Gen Hameed had signed the agreement to end the three-week long Faizabad Dharna of 2017. The participants had been managed o stage the sit-in against the then PML-N government, he added. 

Allegations against Faiz Hameed

As per a petition filed by Moeez Ahmed Khan, owner of Top City Housing Scheme, on May 12, 2017, the Pakistan Rangers and officials of the ISI raided the office of Top City and Moeez’s residence and took away valuables, including gold and diamond ornaments and money, in connection with a purported terrorism case.

The petition further stated that Gen Hameed’s brother Sardar Najaf mediated and tried to resolve the issue. After his acquittal, the petition claimed, Gen Hameed contacted Moeez through the latter’s cousin — a brigadier in the army — to arrange a meeting.

The petition claimed that during the meeting, Gen Hameed told the petitioner that he would return some of the items taken away during the raid except for 400 tola gold and cash.

The petition claimed that retired brigadier Naeem Fakhar and retired brigadier Ghaffar of the ISI allegedly “forced” the petitioner to “pay 4 crores in cash” and “sponsor a private AAP TV network for a few months”.

As per the petition, former ISI officials Irtaza Haroon, Sardar Najaf, Wasim Tabish, Zahid Mehmood Malik, and Mohammad Munir were also “involved in the illegal takeover of the housing society”.