Pakistan’s military said on Thursday it had arrested three more retired officers following the arrest of former spy chief Faiz Hameed, who faces a court martial on charges of corruption and misuse of power.
The arrests were in connection with the proceedings against Hameed, who formerly led premier spy agency Inter-services Intelligence (ISI), for “actions prejudicial to military discipline”, the military said.
In a statement, it added that the military 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 that the spy agency interferes in politics and government. Hameed, a general, served as the ISI chief from 2019 to 2021 during the tenure of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is now in jail.
Khan has said he did not want to relieve Hameed of his role at the spy agency after he was transferred elsewhere by his army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Khan’s aides and political analysts say the tussle over Hameed contributed to a fall-out between him and Bajwa, leading to his ouster in a parliamentary confidence vote early in 2022.
Pakistan’s military, which has directly ruled the nation of 240 million for more than 30 years in its 77-year independent history, plays an outsized role in making or breaking governments.
Hameed’s court-martial comes after the military said it 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 his housing scheme on the outskirts of Islamabad.
In addition, the military cited “multiple instances of violation of the Pakistan Army Act” following Hameed’s retirement that it said had also been established against him.