Pak govt alleges ex-spy chief Faiz Hameed was part of Imran Khan-led conspiracy to spread unrest

The Pakistan government has accused jailed former premier Imran Khan of masterminding a political conspiracy along with a former ISI chief and others to sow anarchy and disharmony in the country according to media reportsInformation Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed that the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf founder was spreading unrest across the country and former ISI chief LtGen retd Faiz Hameed was part of the conspiracy the Express Tribune newspaper reportedHameed who served as director general of the InterServices Intelligence ISI from 2019 to 2021 when Khan was the prime minister was arrested following action in the complaint of a private property developer over alleged misuse of official authorityLater several others including three retired military officers were also arrested in connection with the court martial of HameedSpeaking at a press conference on Saturday Tarar hinted that the ambit of the probe against Lt Gen retd Hameed and his other ldquococonspiratorsrdquo would be widened in days to come Dawn newspaper reportedTarar said that in the wake of Hameedrsquos arrest the army conducted transparent investigations as they have their mechanism of internal accountabilityReferring to the arrests the information minister claimed that Khan had conspired with these people to spread anarchy in the countryldquoThis was a political alliance led by the PTI founder which was linked with Gen Faiz and other accomplicesrdquo he said adding that the ambit of the investigation would widenldquoNo matter if someone is Saqib or Nisar things will proceed transparentlyrdquo he said referring to former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar who the ruling Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz party accuses of propping up the PTI regime and targeting their political opponentsTarar alleged that evidence was surfacing which showed that Khan was ldquoin contactrdquo with these conspirators mdash at the time of the vote of noconfidence and even after his incarceration mdash and his messaging continued back and forth with this ldquounholy political alliancerdquoHe stressed that other institutions should also practice the same selfaccountability that the army had demonstratedThe information minister stressed that other institutions should also practice the same selfaccountability that the army had demonstratedMeanwhile just days after distancing himself from the former spymaster facing courtmartial proceedings Khan seemed to endorse claims that he and the retired general were closeKhan hinting that the former spymaster and he was close said Hameeds transfer to the Peshawar corps was part of the conspiracy hatched against the PTI government Dawn News reportedKhan claimed that this was done by former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa at the behest of Nawaz SharifLt Gen retd Hameed considered extremely powerful when he headed the spy agency was appointed to the coveted post when then ISI chief and current Army chief Lt Gen Asim Munir was prematurely removed from the postIt was reported then that then Prime Minister Imran Khan was not happy with MunirLater the army decided to replace Hameed a move vehemently opposed by Khan and it is believed that it was the beginning of the souring of his ties with the powerful militaryHameed took premature retirement in November 2022 four months before his retirement date after the current army chief took over He was considered close to then Army chief Gen Qamar BajwaThe post of ISI chief is considered one of the most important in the Pakistan Army which has ruled the country for more than half of its 76plus years of existence and has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever