ISLAMABAD: Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, who served as chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) between 2019 and 2021, has announced his plans to seek early retirement from service, according to reports citing family sources.
He is currently heading the XXXI Corps of Pakistan Army based in Bahawalpur.
“Yes, general sahib has decided to seek early retirement,” Express Tribune reported, citing a family member.
The news comes a day after Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas, among the six senior-most generals considered for the posts of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) chairman and the army chief along with Gen. Hameed, announced his intention to take early retirement.
The government, however, went with the principle of seniority and appointed Gen. Syed Asim Munir as army chief and Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as JCSC chairman.
Widely considered close to ex-premier Imran Khan, Gen. Hameed was appointed as the chief of the spy agency, replacing Gen. Munir after only eight months on the job.
The head of the ISI is one of the most important posts in Pakistan, at the intersection of domestic politics, the war on militancy and Pakistan’s foreign relations.
Gen. Hameed was one of the figures who brokered the Faizabad agreement in late 2017, when supporters of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) group blocked off roads into Islamabad.
