Pakistan’s ex-ISI chief faces court martial after arrest in property case

No former spy chief has faced court martial in a country the powerful army has directly ruled for nearly three decades.

Islamabad, Pakistan – A former chief of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency faces court martial following his arrest for alleged misconduct in a case related to a private housing scheme.

In a brief statement on Monday, the Pakistani military said it had arrested retired Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed, the former head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, to “ascertain the correctness” of complaints in a property case and “appropriate disciplinary action” was initiated against him.

The statement said there were “multiple instances of violation” of the Army Act by Hameed after his retirement in December 2022. “The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated, and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody,” it added.

The military said it acted against the top officer in accordance with the orders of the Supreme Court, which last year called for an investigation against Hameed after a land development company called Top City filed a petition, alleging Hameed had acquired ownership of some properties along with his brother and had even blackmailed the company’s owner.

In its petition, Top City, which was developing land near the capital, Islamabad, for a private housing project, alleged Hameed was involved in land grab and corruption linked to the housing project, media reports said. The company also accused the former ISI chief of abusing his authority and orchestrating raids at the home and the offices of its owner.

The military is considered the most influential institution in Pakistan and has directly ruled the country for close to 30 years of