Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has described the arrest of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, as an internal military matter, distancing his party from the issue, according to The Express Tribune.
After a meeting with senior lawyers at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, Khan’s legal representative, Intezar Panjutha, stated that Khan had called for peaceful protests that night in support of freedom, underscoring the significance of demonstrations for the nation. Panjutha also relayed Khan’s concerns about the increasing pressure on the Supreme Court, growing disillusionment among youth, and deteriorating conditions in Pakistan, which Khan compared to those in Bangladesh, The Express Tribune reported.
Khan reportedly suggested that it might be time for Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to step down and mentioned that PTI had allegedly lost three seats the previous day. Regarding the arrest of Gen Faiz, Panjutha conveyed Khan’s stance that it was a purely military issue unrelated to PTI. He claimed that Khan had no political ties to Gen Faiz and implied that former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had replaced Faiz through a deal with Nawaz Sharif, as reported by The Express Tribune.
Khan also proposed that if Faiz’s arrest was connected to the events of May 9, it would be appropriate to establish a judicial commission and review the CCTV footage from that day, Panjutha added, according to The Express Tribune.
Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was detained by the military, and court-martial proceedings were initiated against him on charges of corruption, misuse of authority, and violations of the Pakistan Army Act, as announced by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday, The Express Tribune reported.
Hameed, a close associate of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, served as the ISI chief during Khan’s tenure. The ISI chief is regarded as the second most influential military officer in Pakistan after the army chief. His appointment followed the sudden removal of then-ISI chief and current Army chief General Asim Munir, who had reportedly presented evidence of alleged corruption involving Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and associate Farah Gogi, as per The Express Tribune.
There was speculation that Khan wanted Hameed to succeed General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa as Army chief after Bajwa’s retirement in November 2022. Hameed was among six generals whose names were forwarded by GHQ to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for consideration for the top military position in 2022, The Express Tribune reported.
Khan, who was ousted from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022, alleged that his removal was orchestrated by the military, a claim the military denied. Following his ousting, Khan launched a defiant campaign against the military, and his arrest in May 2023 for corruption led to nationwide protests and violent unrest targeting army installations. This resulted in a significant crackdown on his party, which had won a majority of seats in February’s general elections, The Express Tribune reported.