Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
A military court in Pakistan has sentenced former spymaster Faiz Hameed to 14 years in prison, in an unprecedented move against a one-time rival of army chief Asim Munir.
Hameed held what is considered Pakistan’s second most powerful military post as director of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the country’s top intelligence agency, from 2019 to 2021.
He had faced four charges, including engaging in political activities, misuse of power and government resources and violating the Official Secrets Act, the Armed Forces said on Thursday without elaborating.
Hameed’s lawyers were not immediately available for comment. He has the right to appeal against his sentence.
Under former prime minister Imran Khan, Hameed was widely seen as a possible contender to become chief of army staff, the country’s most influential position, until Khan’s government was toppled in a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Pakistan’s military has ruled the country outright for half of its post-independence history, and its powerful intelligence services, led by the ISI, maintain considerable sway over domestic politics.
Hameed had succeeded Munir as ISI chief, after the latter was sacked by Khan in 2019 following just eight months in the post.
Munir was later elevated to the role of army chief in November 2022 and has since become Pakistan’s most powerful military leader since the fall of dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2008.
The country’s parliament recently granted lifetime immunity to Munir, who also became Pakistan’s second-ever field marshal in May, and gave him unified control over three branches of the Armed Forces. It also extended his term to 2030, with the possibility of another five-year term.
Opposition politicians and rights groups have accused Munir’s lieutenants of pursuing a crackdown against his rivals, including allies of Khan.
“This appears to be part of the broader campaign by Munir and his political partners to bring down Imran Khan and stifle his perceived allies,” said Ayesha Siddiqa, senior fellow at King’s College London and author of a book on the Pakistani military’s involvement in the economy.
The military statement said that Hameed, who was arrested in August 2024, faces additional investigations including for allegedly “fomenting” instability in concert with “political elements”, a possible reference to his past relationship with Khan.
The former prime minister, who has been imprisoned since 2023 on numerous charges, remains widely popular despite being labelled a national security threat by the military.
One of the additional charges against Hameed concerns a land development case that dates back to 2017, in which he is accused of ordering a raid on the office of a housing society executive.
A written order from a November 2023 hearing in that case said the allegations against Hameed “are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the Armed Forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers [a paramilitary law-enforcement body], therefore, they cannot be left unattended”.
