Pakistan’s Ex-ISI Chief Faiz Hameed: Pakistan's ex-ISI chief Faiz Hameed has been sentenced to 14 years of prison after being convicted on charges of corruption, political meddling and misuse of authority. He is sent to jail after all the charges against him were proven true in a Court-Martial. The verdict marks a rare moment in Pakistan's history, as it is the first time that a former chief of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, or I.S.I., has been prosecuted and imprisoned. And that too by the military establishment. Who is this Ex-ISI Chief Faiz Hameed? Does he have a connection with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Pakistan Prime Minister and jailed Imran Khan?
Who is Ex-ISI Chief Faiz Hameed?
General Hameed was arrested in August 2024 on four charges. According to a statement from the military’s public relations wing, he was convicted for engaging in political activities, violating the Official Secrets Act, misusing government resources and causing wrongful financial loss. The court sentenced him to hard labour, known as “rigorous imprisonment” under Pakistani law.
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His prosecution has been widely viewed as part of a continuing crackdown by the military on allies of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister, who was in office from 2018 to 2022 and handpicked General Hameed to lead the spy agency.
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Faiz Hameed is a retired military officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the 29th Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence from 2019 to 2021. He was formerly commissioned in the Baloch Regiment, having served as GOC 16th Infantry Division Pano Akil. He last served as Commander of the XXXI Corps before taking premature retirement on 10 December 2022.
About Faiz's family
Faiz was born in Latifal village of Chakwal District in the Punjab Province. He joined the Pakistan Military Academy in 1987. He graduated from Command and Staff College and was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army. He has three brothers, Sikandar Hayat, Najaf Hameed and Khizar. His brother Sikandar Hayat died in 2016 in an accident, while his brother Najaf Hameed is a land revenue officer in his hometown. Hameed's family belongs to Chakwal, which is known for producing many Pakistani military commanders.
Faiz's military career
He was commissioned into the Pakistan Army’s Baloch Regiment. In the mid-2010s, he developed a close working relationship with future army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa while serving as a brigadier in the army’s X Corps in Rawalpindi. He was rapidly promoted to Major General in February 2015 and became the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 16th Infantry Division at Pano Akil, a role he held from June 2015 to January 2017.
After Bajwa took over as army chief in November 2016, he appointed Hameed as Director General of the Counterintelligence Wing (DG-C) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in January 2017. His swift rise made him one of Bajwa’s closest confidants, and at times, he was viewed as more influential than the then DG-ISI, Naveed Mukhtar.
In April 2019, he was appointed Adjutant General at GHQ in Rawalpindi and promoted to Lieutenant General, receiving his third star. He later served as DG-ISI from June 2019 until 6 October 2021.
Held talks with Ajit Doval
Reportedly, as part of backdoor diplomacy between India and Pakistan, Hameed, in his role as DG-ISI, held several rounds of talks with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval between 2020 and 2021, which led to the renewed pledge of an India-Pakistan ceasefire on the Line of Control in 2021.
Did Faiz Hameed have connections with jailed ex-PM Imran Khan?
According to Pakistan’s interior minister, Hameed crossed red lines and interfered in political matters. Even though there are details available on the links between Hameed and Imran Khan, the minister claimed that the former ISI chief acted as a political adviser to PTI and gave the party and jailed Imran Khan full support.