PAKISTAN’S MILITARY ARRESTS THREE FORMER OFFICERS AMID SPY CHIEF PROBE

Pakistan’s military has said it arrested three retired officers in connection with the investigation into former spy chief Faiz Hameed, who faces a court-martial on charges of corruption and misuse of power.

The arrests were tied to the proceedings against Hameed, who led the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, for “actions prejudicial to military discipline”, the military said on Thursday.

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It said in a statement that it continued to investigate some retired officers and their accomplices for “fomenting instability at the behest of, and in collusion with, vested political interests”.

Political parties and critics often accuse the ISI of interfering in politics and the government.

Hameed was arrested on Monday and accused of alleged misconduct in a case related to a private housing scheme. The military said it had completed an inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court into a complaint by a real estate developer.

It accused the former ISI chief of having misused his office to illegally occupy the housing scheme on the outskirts of Islamabad.

It additionally cited “multiple instances of violation of the Pakistan Army Act” following Hameed’s retirement that it said had also been established against him.

Hameed served as the ISI chief from 2019 to 2021 during the tenure of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is now in jail. 

Khan replaced him with Lieutenant-General Nadeem Anjum in October 2021, months before the cricketer-turned-politician lost power in April 2022.

Once tipped to become the army chief, Hameed took early retirement in December 2022. Pakistan’s Army Act prohibits a retired military official from engaging in political activities for two years after retirement.

e most powerful institution in Pakistan, directly ruling the country of 240 million for more than 30 years in its nearly eight-decade-long independent history.