A PAKISTAN Army general who had once seemed all-powerful has been arrested by his own institution for a list of shocking crimes. Former DG ISI retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed has been taken into custody by the military and faces a field general court martial for violating the Army Act, according to an announcement made by the armed forces’ media wing on Monday. The arrest has been made in connection with a complaint about the criminal intimidation and extortion of a senior executive of a private housing society, the military said, and in line with a Supreme Court directive issued in November last year in response to a petition filed by the victim. The victim had alleged that he was robbed of tens of millions of rupees worth of gold and other assets by armed forces personnel acting on Lt-Gen Hameed’s orders, and later forced to finance a private TV channel with his cash. While it is no doubt good to see someone who seemed untouchable be brought to justice, many questions linger about the former spy chief’s unlawful activities as well as the timing and circumstances of his long-delayed comeuppance.

Rumours had long circulated about Lt-Gen Hameed’s involvement in various real estate projects and his abuse of office for personal enrichment, and the Top City case, in which he has been arrested, seems to be just one of the examples. It ought to be asked why it took so long to investigate the former spy chief, especially when the armed forces claim to have deployed very strict internal controls to ensure accountability. Secondly, testimonies abound of the retired general’s alleged involvement in other unlawful activities as well, including in various schemes for political engineering, abduction and intimidation of political leaders, interference in the state’s executive apparatus, conspiracy to unseat the government, and harassment and coercion of the national media to toe his institution’s line. It is understood that the armed forces, through Lt-Gen Hameed’s arrest, want to demonstrate their seriousness about internal accountability. If so, the armed forces should dispel the impression being created in some quarters that the arrest is somehow a political one by investigating these other, equally serious allegations too, if only to set a precedent and discourage others from bringing disrepute to their offices by becoming involved in unlawful activities.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2024