Court martial initiated against ex-ISI chief Faiz Hameed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani army said Thursday that court martial proceedings against former ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retd) were initiated in the wake of several charges that he violated the Pakistan Army Act.
Rumours have been swirling in Islamabad these days that Hameed’s arrest last month could pave the way for a possible military trial of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan over charges of treason and attempting to incite mutiny in the army.The allegations are linked to cases which were filed after Imran's supporters went on a rampage last year following his arrest.
Hameed was arrested over charges of graft, misuse of authority and violating the Pakistan Army Act. His arrest, however, has been seen by the opposition as a ploy to implicate Imran in cases linked to May 9 riots. This apprehension had prompted Khan to approach the Islamabad high court on Tuesday, pleading to stop civilian authorities from handing him over to the military. “A few weeks ago, a retired senior army officer (Faiz Hameed) was taken into military custody. It has been widely speculated and reported in the media that he will be made an approver against the petitioner (Imran Khan) in cases pertaining to May 9 and 10, 2023 and the petitioner will be transferred to military custody on this basis,” the petition read.
Govt officials have repeatedly said Hameed worked with Khan to plan the riots.
Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, army’s spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the law takes its own course if a person from the Pakistani army works for personal gain or promotes a specific agenda.
“The case of Gen Hameed is a clear example that the army takes violations of its rules very seriously. He (Hameed) had overstepped his legal and constitutional boundaries at the behest of certain political elements,” Chaudhary said.
He said Gen Hameed’s case was referred to the Pakistani army through the defence ministry in light of a “full belief in the army’s accountability process”, following which the army ordered a “high-level court of inquiry” into the matter.
“There is a clear consensus within the army that it is a national, state-owned institution, which must be prevented from being used against the completion of goals related to specific political agendas.”
Khan is being currently tried in a civil court for allegedly abetting the violence on May 9, 2023, a charge he has denied.