In an unprecedented turn of events, Pakistan army has taken General (retd) Faiz Hameed, the former chief of the ISI in custody for corruption. He is the first chief of the ISI to be arrested in Pakistan for accountability. In a recent conversation with the New Wave Global Raza Rumi, Editor of Naya Daur Media and New Wave Global, detailed the repressive tenure of former ISI chief General Faiz Hameed. He highlighted the extensive media crackdown under Hameed, including the blocking of Naya Daur’s website and YouTube channel, the detention of a junior video editor, assassination attempts on journalists like Absar Alam, and the torture of Asad Toor.
Rumi also discussed Hameed's alleged support for the far-right Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) from 2016 onwards, aimed at destabilizing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. Despite a Supreme Court ruling by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa urging action against Hameed and his associates, accountability has been lacking.
New allegations link Hameed to the relocation of TTP militants into Pakistan following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, with these militants reportedly attacking Pakistani forces. Rumi stressed the need for a thorough investigation into these accusations to fully understand Hameed’s impact on Pakistan's security and political stability.