Maryam Nawaz wants former ISI chief Faiz Hameed court martialled

Pakistani politics just got more interesting as squabbling between politicians shows no signs of reducing.

In the latest, Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz Sharif has called for former ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed’s court martial over his role in allegedly bringing down her father’s Nawaz Sharif’s government and implicating her family in corruption cases.

On the other hand, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah too said on Wednesday that Hameed and his brother are being investigated for corruption and accumulating assets beyond means. The minister, however, declined to give further information saying that various agencies are probing the matter.

Earlier this week, Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor had set the ball of speculation rolling in the Pakistani media when he said on Twitter and on YouTube that Hameed might be arrested. Toor had alleged that the general’s possible arrest would be charges including allegations of corruption, abuse of power, degrading the army, interference in politics, harming the army’s internal cohesion and maintaining contacts with the Afghanistan-based terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Regarding the former ISI chief’s court martial plans by Maryam Nawaz, Sanaullah said that this was a matter for the army to decide as a court martial of a former military officer does not fall within the jurisdiction of civil authorities. On Maryam’s comments, he added that politicians share their opinions publicly.

There are allegations against Hameed that he was trying to get himself promoted as the army chief with the help of Imran Khan and former Pakistani chief of army staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa. However, when he was not chosen for the position he decided to resign prematurely without completing his tenure.

Hameed seems to facing the wrath of the entire Pakistani government.

Last month, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had said that Hameed should be summoned before the Parliament for his role in inviting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) into the country. He also accused the former ISI chief of visiting Kabul in September 2021 to talk with the Taliban government which had taken over the war-torn country, after which the TTP fighters were allowed to come back into Pakistan.

Pakistan is in acute distress with the TTP openly attacking police stations and military personnel in the country. With violence reaching unprecedented levels, masses in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region have been staging protests asking the government to reduce violence and provide security to the people from the TTP.

Also read: Pakistan may arrest former ISI chief Faiz Hameed on corruption and other charges