What is the story about?
Pakistan’s Army has sentenced former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lieutenant General (retired) Faiz Hameed, to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. This is the first time that an ex-spymaster has been tried and convicted by a military court in Pakistan.
The Field General Court Martial found Hameed guilty on several counts, including “engaging in political activities” and abuse of power, according to a statement by the military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media agency. The once-powerful ISI chief was taken into custody last August.
But who is Faiz Hameed? And why has he been sentenced? We will explain.
Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed was once a frontrunner for the post of Pakistan Army chief.
Coming from the Pakistan Army’s Baloch Regiment, he has served as the Bahawalpur corps commander. Before that, he was appointed as the Peshawar corps commander in October 2021.
Hameed, as a brigadier, became the chief of staff of the X Corps under former Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who was the commander of the corps at the time.
Hameed also served as director-general (Counter-Intelligence) at ISI. He also has experience commanding an infantry division in Pano Aqil, Sindh, during his time as a major general.
Hameed first came to the spotlight in November 2017 for his key role in ending the Faizabad dharna by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLD), reported
Dawn. He had facilitated an agreement between the government and the then-banned outfit.
Hameed’s career highlight came as Pakistan’s top spymaster.
After Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power in 2018, Hameed was appointed as Director General of the ISI a year later. He took over the post in June 2019 and served till October 2021.
During his tenure as ISI chief, Hameed, considered close to Khan, was accused by many politicians of being heavy-handed to please his political masters, reported
New York Times (NYT).
Hameed caught global attention after he was pictured, along with other Pakistani officials, sipping tea in a hotel with the Taliban in Kabul, a couple of weeks after the group took over Afghanistan in August 2021 following the US withdrawal.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly blamed Hameed, along with a group of Supreme Court judges and another military general, for his removal from power in 2017.
Hameed was forced to resign in November 2022, four months before his scheduled retirement, after PM Shehbaz Sharif appointed (then) Lt Gen Asim Munir as the Pakistan Army chief.
Imran Khan had unsuccessfully tried to resist his removal at the time.
In an unprecedented move, Faiz Hameed was arrested by the Pakistan military in August 2024. He was accused of abusing his power and raiding a private property development business during his time as head of Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI.
Hameed's arrest was linked to a crackdown on those with close ties to former PM Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The PTI chief is currently languishing in jail on graft and other charges.
The military had also started "the process of Field General Court Martial" against Hameed.
Hameed was arrested in connection with the Top City housing scheme scandal. Moeez Ahmed Khan, the owner of the Top City Housing scheme, a private housing society in the Chowki Hameedan area of Islamabad, had accused the former spymaster and his associates of extortion.
In May 2017, ISI officials and personnel of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers raided the offices of Top City and Moeez’s home, seizing gold and diamond jewellery after falsely accusing him of terrorism. Hameed was a senior officer in the ISI at the time.
In November 2023, Pakistan's Supreme Court said that allegations of an “extremely serious nature” against the former ISI chief “cannot be left unattended” as they would "undermine the reputation" of the country’s institutions if proven to be true.
An investigation began against Hameed, following which he was arrested, Dawn reported.
Last December, the ex-spymaster was charged with “engaging in political activities,” misuse of authority and government resources, and violating the Official Secrets Act. Hameed was accused of doing all this “at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests”.
Hameed has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, over a year after court-martial proceedings began against him.
“The accused was tried on four charges related to engaging in political activities, violation of the Official Secrets Act detrimental to the safety and interest of the state, misuse of authority and government resources, and causing wrongful loss" to individuals, the military said in a statement on Thursday (December 11).
The charge of involvement in political activities is linked to the protests in May 2023 against Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, when supporters of Imran Khan had damaged state buildings and military installations, as per
Bloomberg.
The military's statement added that “involvement of [the] convict in fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cohorts with political elements and in certain other matters is separately being dealt with”.
“After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, the accused has been found guilty on all charges,” the statement read.
Hameed can challenge the verdict.
Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Associated Press (AP) that the ruling against Hameed came after a lengthy investigation that gave the former ISI chief ample opportunity to defend himself.
“Faiz Hameed was found guilty on all four counts — misuse of office and state resources, violation of the Official Secrets Act, harming the public interest and engaging in politics,” he said. “The decision signals the military leadership’s intent that no officer, regardless of rank, will be allowed to engage in politics, and Hameed’s case has been made an example for all retired officers.”
Speaking to Geo News, senior Pakistani journalist Shahzeb Khanzada, said that “Pakistan has always had a problem of political engineering, but Faiz Hameed took it to its peak”.
“He set a precedent for manipulating the judiciary,” Khanzada said, referring to the disqualification of former PM Nawaz Sharif.
The journalist also accused Hameed of “harming the country, democracy, media, judiciary, and his own institution”.
With inputs from agencies
The Field General Court Martial found Hameed guilty on several counts, including “engaging in political activities” and abuse of power, according to a statement by the military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media agency. The once-powerful ISI chief was taken into custody last August.
But who is Faiz Hameed? And why has he been sentenced? We will explain.
Who is Faiz Hameed?
Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed was once a frontrunner for the post of Pakistan Army chief.
Coming from the Pakistan Army’s Baloch Regiment, he has served as the Bahawalpur corps commander. Before that, he was appointed as the Peshawar corps commander in October 2021.
Hameed, as a brigadier, became the chief of staff of the X Corps under former Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who was the commander of the corps at the time.
Hameed also served as director-general (Counter-Intelligence) at ISI. He also has experience commanding an infantry division in Pano Aqil, Sindh, during his time as a major general.
Hameed first came to the spotlight in November 2017 for his key role in ending the Faizabad dharna by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLD), reported
Hameed’s career highlight came as Pakistan’s top spymaster.
After Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power in 2018, Hameed was appointed as Director General of the ISI a year later. He took over the post in June 2019 and served till October 2021.
During his tenure as ISI chief, Hameed, considered close to Khan, was accused by many politicians of being heavy-handed to please his political masters, reported
Hameed caught global attention after he was pictured, along with other Pakistani officials, sipping tea in a hotel with the Taliban in Kabul, a couple of weeks after the group took over Afghanistan in August 2021 following the US withdrawal.
Faiz Hameed served as Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI's chief for over two years. (Photo: ISPR)
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly blamed Hameed, along with a group of Supreme Court judges and another military general, for his removal from power in 2017.
Hameed was forced to resign in November 2022, four months before his scheduled retirement, after PM Shehbaz Sharif appointed (then) Lt Gen Asim Munir as the Pakistan Army chief.
Why was Hameed arrested?
In an unprecedented move, Faiz Hameed was arrested by the Pakistan military in August 2024. He was accused of abusing his power and raiding a private property development business during his time as head of Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI.
Hameed's arrest was linked to a crackdown on those with close ties to former PM Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The PTI chief is currently languishing in jail on graft and other charges.
The military had also started "the process of Field General Court Martial" against Hameed.
Hameed was arrested in connection with the Top City housing scheme scandal. Moeez Ahmed Khan, the owner of the Top City Housing scheme, a private housing society in the Chowki Hameedan area of Islamabad, had accused the former spymaster and his associates of extortion.
In May 2017, ISI officials and personnel of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers raided the offices of Top City and Moeez’s home, seizing gold and diamond jewellery after falsely accusing him of terrorism. Hameed was a senior officer in the ISI at the time.
In November 2023, Pakistan's Supreme Court said that allegations of an “extremely serious nature” against the former ISI chief “cannot be left unattended” as they would "undermine the reputation" of the country’s institutions if proven to be true.
An investigation began against Hameed, following which he was arrested, Dawn reported.
Last December, the ex-spymaster was charged with “engaging in political activities,” misuse of authority and government resources, and violating the Official Secrets Act. Hameed was accused of doing all this “at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests”.
What next for Hameed?
Hameed has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, over a year after court-martial proceedings began against him.
“The accused was tried on four charges related to engaging in political activities, violation of the Official Secrets Act detrimental to the safety and interest of the state, misuse of authority and government resources, and causing wrongful loss" to individuals, the military said in a statement on Thursday (December 11).
The charge of involvement in political activities is linked to the protests in May 2023 against Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, when supporters of Imran Khan had damaged state buildings and military installations, as per
The military's statement added that “involvement of [the] convict in fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cohorts with political elements and in certain other matters is separately being dealt with”.
“After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, the accused has been found guilty on all charges,” the statement read.
Hameed can challenge the verdict.
Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Associated Press (AP) that the ruling against Hameed came after a lengthy investigation that gave the former ISI chief ample opportunity to defend himself.
“Faiz Hameed was found guilty on all four counts — misuse of office and state resources, violation of the Official Secrets Act, harming the public interest and engaging in politics,” he said. “The decision signals the military leadership’s intent that no officer, regardless of rank, will be allowed to engage in politics, and Hameed’s case has been made an example for all retired officers.”
Speaking to Geo News, senior Pakistani journalist Shahzeb Khanzada, said that “Pakistan has always had a problem of political engineering, but Faiz Hameed took it to its peak”.
“He set a precedent for manipulating the judiciary,” Khanzada said, referring to the disqualification of former PM Nawaz Sharif.
The journalist also accused Hameed of “harming the country, democracy, media, judiciary, and his own institution”.
With inputs from agencies
