The allegations against former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed are beginning to pile up, to the extent that they are beginning to establish a pattern of abuse of office. Because of this, they merit investigation, so as to avoid any impact on the institution where General Faiz spent his career, raising the exalted rank which allowed the alleged abuses of office. Some of the allegations are to do with alleged abuses that he is alleged to have committed in 2017, using ISI personnel to raid the offices of a housing society and the house of its CEO, Moeez Ahmad Khan, who was the petitioner, and who also claimed to have been illegally confined. There is also the allegation by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party leader Aleem Khan that General Faiz ‘persecuted’ him and others around PTI chief Imran Khan because he feared they would oppose his elevation to the office of COAS.
None of the accusations have been proven, but need to be investigated before they are rejected. It is clear that any investigation may lead to General Faiz’s superiors. It should be noted that General Faiz began to be controversial when Mr Khan’s delay in releasing him as DG ISI in 2021 set off the chain of events that led to the latter’s ouster and his imprisonment. This may be a reason why such investigations have not gone very far in the past.
The country’s premier spy agency, which is proud to be ranked as among the world’s best, should not have its reputation besmirched by allegations accruing only to rogue elements who refused to be governed by the law. Only a thorough investigation can rectify this matter, and nothing should be allowed to come in its way, not even the fear of who else might be involved.
