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ISLAMABAD: A case of alleged assets beyond means against former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed has referred to the National Accountability Bureau a few weeks ago, but the Bureau returned the reference.
According to informed NAB sources, the NAB Rawalpindi office received a file containing complete details of General Faiz’s income tax record and a two-page complaint signed by some unknown locals from Chakwal, for the initiation of an inquiry against the ex-DG ISI a few weeks ago.
According to these sources, DG NAB reviewed the file and, after consulting with his superiors, returned the case with the instruction that the authorities involved in submitting a formal request to the Bureau.
According to sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also aware of what the NAB had referred to against General Faiz and how the Bureau had previously reacted.
With the appointment of new NAB Chairman Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmed Butt, the case is expected to be referred back to the NAB for formal proceedings against the country’s former top spymaster.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that the investigation agencies are looking into former ISI chief Lt Gen (R) Faiz Hameed and that any developments will be shared with the media.
The interior minister did not specify which government investigation agency is looking into Lt Gen (R) Faiz. He also did not say what is being investigated against the former DG ISI. “Only the institution can conduct General Faiz’s court martial,” Rana Sanaullah said. He also stated that the military trial is held by the General Headquarters, not the Interior Ministry.
PMLN senior vice president and chief organizer Maryam Nawaz demanded General Faiz’s court martial in an interview on Wednesday. She claimed that Faiz had contributed to the country’s instability by weakening PMLN government for two years and supporting Imran Khan’s government for four years.
Maryam emphasized the importance of exemplary punishment for Faiz in order to ensure that no one else would dare to play any “unconstitutional role” in the future. On the same day (Wednesday), a senior journalist and anchorperson posted on social media Gen Faiz’s response to what Maryam Nawaz said. According to the journalist, in response to Maryam Nawaz’s allegations, former DG ISI reminded him via text messages that he was only a major general in 2017-18 and asked if a major general while adhering to military discipline, could topple an elected government on his own. According to reports, General Faiz added that decisions in the army are made solely by the Army Chief.
The PMLN has recently targeted General Faiz Hameed from among the former establishment’s key members while sparing former Army Chief General (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa. When asked why she was not demanding action against the former army chief, Maryam stated that Mian Nawaz Sharif had criticized General Bajwa when he was the COAS.
