Imran Khan’s former spy chief arrested in Pakistan as critics claim political ‘purge’
Pakistan’s former spy chief has been arrested in connection with a raid on a housing project in which gold and jewellery were seized allegedly on his orders.
However, some critics believe the action against him is politically motivated and part of a purge of officers close to Imran Khan, the former prime minister.
Faiz Hameed will be court-martialled, the country’s military announced on Monday, without disclosing charges against him.
Disciplinary action against such a high-profile intelligence officer is rare in a country where the army ruled for 30 of its 77 years of independence and continues to dominate the country.
The arrest was ordered by the Supreme Court, the military said in a statement, adding that multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after Mr Hameed’s retirement had also been established.
“The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody,” the ISPR said.
‘Acting on complaints’
The military said the arrest was made “to ascertain the correctness of complaints” against Mr Hameed, who was head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in relation to a land development case called Top City.
Mr Hameed was considered to be close to Mr Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before falling out with the powerful military and being ousted.
When Mr Khan was premier he named Mr Hameed to head the ISI in 2019. After Mr Khan was pushed out of power in a no-confidence vote in 2022 Mr Hameed announced his retirement the same year.
The military said it was acting on complaints brought by Top City, a housing project in Islamabad.
On May 12 2017, Pakistan’s Rangers, a paramilitary force, and officials from the ISI raided the office of Top City and the home of its owner Moeez Khan.
They said they took away valuables, including gold, diamond ornaments and money in connection with an alleged terrorism case.
However, Top City has accused Mr Hameed of stealing 4kg of gold and other valuables during the raid.
In April 2024, the military on the directions of the Supreme Court and ministry of defence formed an inquiry committee to investigate the allegations of misuse of authority against him.
In November, the court said that allegations of an “extremely serious nature” against him “cannot be left unattended” as they would undermine the reputation of the country’s institutions if they were proven to be true.
Adil Raja, the former Pakistan army major, who is currently in London in exile, said the military was using the Top City case as an excuse to take revenge against Mr Hameed for not testifying against Mr Khan since April last year.
“Faiz Hameed was arrested because he refused to give a statement against Imran Khan which the army could have used to keep the former prime minister in prison for a longer time,” Mr Adil said.