Pakistan is never short on news. As Arshad Nadeem became the first Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed became the first intelligence chief to be arrested. Arshad earned national recognition and a buffalo. Hameed might lose both his reputation and his head. All of this is fascinating in terms of the flamboyant Faiz Hameed himself.
What’s more intriguing is what it indicates about the Pakistani military. The days when Indian army officers considered the opposing army as nearly identical to their own in terms of a British-trained and disciplined force are long gone. Think again. Things are becoming dangerous.
First, there’s the question of the arrested ISI chief. Enough has been said about his field skill and the now-famous photograph of him enjoying tea at the Serena hotel in Kabul as the Taliban seized power. Enough to say that no intelligence chief worth his salt would be caught dead in an operational region where he had a significant role to play. But it was Faiz all over. He plooted the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, and he was not shy about claiming credit.
Then there was his ability to bring down all of Imran Khan’s opponents. That included the virtual formation of the right-wing Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), led by a fiery preacher named Khadim Rizvi, who led a series of protests against Nawaz Sharif that eroded his electoral base in Punjab. That was when he was a Major General in command of the counterintelligence wing, and he is thought to have supported the famous 2017 Faizabad protests that brought Islamabad to a standstill, despite the fact that an Army official was later caught paying them off. Another issue is that when Rizvi outgrew his boots, he died in unexplained circumstances long afterward.
In 2017, the (in)famous Joint Investigation Committee investigated Nawaz Sharif’s alleged wrongdoing, which included the massive publication and broadcasting of a series of reports exposing his immense riches. The drill was so violent that then Chief Justice Saqib Nisar commented that ISI and military intelligence agents were added to the team to “spice it up”. Visuals of riches beyond the comprehension of the common Pakistani killed Nawaz Sharif in the eyes of the people – permanently. Faiz was nothing if not meticulous.
But such activities are not uncommon in the agency. All of this is to be expected. Neither was the whole ‘Top City’ case, which is currently receiving media attention. Simply put, on May 12, 2017, Pakistan Rangers and ISI personnel invaded the office of “Top City” developer and owner Kunwar Moiz and stole goods such as gold and diamond ornaments and money, allegedly in a terrorism investigation. The owner was also coerced into donating a substantial plot of land to Faiz’s brother, a tehsildar, who was imprisoned in March of this year. The brothers evidently had lofty goals; as researcher Ayesha Siddiqa notes, hundreds of acres of land were so ‘purchased’.
The case was heard by a bench that comprised Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa (accused of being overly indulgent to Imran Khan), who asked the military to investigate claims involving a large number of ISI personnel, as well as at least two Brigadiers and six other members of the agency.
None of this clarifies why Faiz Hameed was detained. There have been dozens of previous examples like this. Remember the Mehran Bank case, in which a bank was essentially created for the sole purpose of distributing payments to various parties opposing the then-liberal Benazir Bhutto? That occurred in the 1990s and lasted several years. Younis Habib, a former Mehran Bank chief, revealed that he was pressured by then-army chief Mirza Aslam Beg and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan to transfer Rs 1.48 billion, of which Rs 140 million was distributed to political parties and the remainder was invested in “army welfare schemes” and transferred to account numbers provided by ISI officials.
He ended up in jail. The others escaped unharmed. Another tiny nugget. Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh was allegedly given over Rs 50 million to challenge Sheikh Hasina at the time. The exact amount that went into ISI’s pockets is unknown. Then there was money sent to militants in the’struggle’ in Kashmir, much of it was siphoned off by ISI officials on the ground.
In other words, the ISI and its agents have been having fun for years. However, the military is not known for acting quickly against its own. Earlier, 12 army officers were arrested for corruption and fined heavily, but their pensions remained intact. In 1995, a triumvirate attempted a major coup with the goal of assassinating the Army Chief and Benazir Bhutto. The trial was still going on in 2023.
But things have surely gotten worse. In April 2024, Lt Gen Ayman Bilal Safdar, the GOC 1 Corps, resigned after the ISI taped negative remarks he made about Gen. Munir on a visit to Saudi Arabia. Then came the response to the May 9 violence, which resulted in the dismissal of at least three senior army officers, including an honorable Lieutenant General who refused to fire on the protesters.
Then there’s Khadija Shah, the granddaughter of former Army Chief Asif Nawaz Janjua, who was arrested alongside a “son-in-law of a retired four-star general, wife of a retired three-star general, and wife and son-in-law of a retired two-star general,” according to a military official. Rumours persist of additional arrests of army commanders for their ties with Imran Khan. It is not only the army. Just days earlier, a senior official at Adiala Jail was detained for acting as Khan’s “messenger.”
Pakistani businesses are already suffering as a result of an internet slowdown, following the Army Chief’s declaration that ‘digital terrorism’ (read social media and Whatsapp) was at the heart of the threat to Pakistan. In other words, not only Hameed and his group, but nearly the entire populace, are being kept as suspects.
The cherry on top comes now. Remember that the Top City case began in 2017 (or earlier), when then-Major General Faiz Hameed was promoted to one of the country’s most sensitive roles. He could have been protected by the then-army head, General Bajwa, one of the most corrupt Pakistan Army chiefs, with his “Papa Joe’s” chains and dirty money. However, such appointments are not limited to chiefs. It is thoroughly scrutinized.
Faiz Hameed has now been charged with traitorous action following his retirement, most likely related to the May 9 events. He will face a Field General court martial despite retiring in December 2022, thanks to an Amendment in 2023 that makes political activity punishable to even former officers (within two years) or, if he maintained a sensitive job, for five years after retirement.
All of this leads to two conclusions. First, current Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir, has gone down the path of arresting his own people, and there is no turning back. He has alienated an entire echelon of officers, and worse, their families, resulting in a growing paranoia based on the fact of significant divisions inside the Pakistan Army. That means everyone is suspect. It is entirely possible that this paranoia may turn on him soon, especially since Gen Hameed’s trial is expected to drag in additional officers, particularly former Army Chief Qamar Bajwa.
However, all of this is a Pakistani domestic problem with little bearing on India. The second issue is dangerous. Because of the all-too-frequent military rule and now ‘hybrid’ regimes, what was once a highly disciplined force has devolved into a corrupt gang capable of doing any action it sees fit.
Also Read: How Durand Line has influenced ties between Afghanistan, Pakistan
Recall that there is a reason why soldiers are kept apart from citizens and elected officials. Even in the most developed democracies, governance involves perverting the law, bribery, and dishonesty. However, for the very reason that they are armed, dangerous, and have had the necessary training, members of the armed forces are expected to conduct themselves with honor and integrity. Combining the two will lead to major problems, as neither national defense nor government will be handled well. This deterioration has reached an unprecedented degree under Asim Munir, and it is likely to cause discord within the army itself.
This must be considered if India is considering holding discussions with its unsteady neighbor. Speaking could help reveal more of the dangers inside, but the main issue is: who exactly is in charge? Not Gen Munir and his entourage, for sure. Too busy gnawing their fingernails to the point of breaking.
