ISLAMABAD – Former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) LtGen Faiz Hameed is making headlines since he left the charge of Pakistan’spowerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to become Peshawar CorpsCommander in a major army reshuffle.
Now, Defence Minister and PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif and PPP co-ChairmanAsif Ali Zardari have mentioned the former spymaster as all eyes are on theRawalpindi where another high-profile transition — the appointment of newArmy Chief — is slated for later this year.
In an interview with *BBC Urdu*, the Defence Minister sparked a new debatewith his assertion about upcoming polls and the appointment of the new ArmyChief.
He revealed that the new government may hold elections before theappointment of a new Army Chief, before November.
Responding to a question about Lt General Faiz Hameed, Asif said thegovernment would ‘definitely consider’ him for the coveted post if his namewas on the seniority list. However, he maintained that the premier cannotask the armed forces or the defence officials to change the names in thelist forwarded to him for the appointment of the top general.
Khawaja also maintained that the appointment of Chief of Armed Forces mustbe institutionalised like the judiciary where the senior-most judge takescharge.
On the other hand, former president and seasoned politician Asif AliZardari asserted while addressing a presser in the country’s largestmetropolis that the poor man [Lt Gen Faiz Hameed] has been sidelined.”
He, however, appreciated the armed forces for being neutral amid the latestpolitical changes. The top PPP leader also expressed the hope thatPakistan’s armed forces would continue to be ‘apolitical’ and any problemsthat arose could be solved by national representatives.
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Earlier, the daughter of PML-N Chief Maryam Nawaz accused the former ISIchief of ‘orchestrating’ her conviction in a corruption reference.
A rift was also reported by international media between Pakistan’s topgeneral and former spymaster – who was widely seen as hoping to become thenext Chief of Army Staff. But there are not truth to such reports.
Former PM Imran Khan was also alleged for having a close relationship withLt Gen Faiz Hameed, as many experts said he apparently wanted him to stayon until elections had taken place.
Amid all the assumptions, Pakistan Army has taken a strong exception tointensified and deliberate attempts to drag its name into the country’songoing political discourse.
In a recent press release, the military’s media wing maintained thatattempts to involve the armed forces and its senior leadership in thepolitical discourse were ‘manifest through direct, insinuated or nuancedreferences made by some political leaders, few journalists and analysts onpublic forums and various communication platforms, including social media’.
ISPR said the practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocativeremarks is extremely damaging for the state.