Doha, 05 Sept. 2024 (Dawn)

Court martial proceedings against former spymaster retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed have been initiated based on “concrete evidence” following a detailed probe, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, the military’s spokesperson said the Pakistan Army had no political agenda as it believed in self-accountability.

In a 48-minute media briefing, the DG ISPR spoke about Gen Faiz’s court-martial as an example of the military’s self-accountability, military operations in the wake of the deadly August 26 attacks in Balochistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan ties, among other issues.

• Gen Hameed’s court-martial based on “concrete evidence” following detailed probe
• Pakistan Army’s self-accountability system “extremely comprehensive, transparent and time-tested”
• Officers against whom the army takes legal actions are entitled to their rights as per the law
• Deadly Balochistan attacks on Aug 26 carried out “on the directives of internal and external enemies and their enablers”

“Following a detailed inquiry based on concrete evidence, the Pakistan Army announced on August 12, 2024, that the relevant officer (Gen Faiz) had violated sections of the Army Act.”

He added that the army found Gen Hameed, who was arrested last month, to be involved in “several instances of violation of the Army Act”, following which the field general court-martial proceedings against the former spymaster were initiated.

The move, prompted by allegations of misconduct levelled against Hameed by the owner of a private housing society, shattered the long-held perception that spy chiefs were untouchable in the country where generals have long wielded unparalleled influence.

“The Pakistan Army believes in the process of self-accountability, and the process of self-accountability that the army follows is extremely comprehensive, transparent, and time-tested,” DG Chaudhry said.

He detailed that the process worked based on concrete evidence, adding that whenever there was a violation of the established laws and rules within the army, “this robust process of self-accountability speedily comes into effect without any discrimination”.