By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan’s former spy chief and ex-army general Faiz Hamid has been indicted on a series of charges, the military said on Tuesday, a rare move by the powerful army, which plays an outsized role in the country’s politics.
The indictment includes engaging in political activities and violating the Official Secrets Act. Hamid also faces an investigation into the attacks against military installations on May 9, 2023, the military said in a statement.
Thousands of supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan rampaged through scores of military installations and offices to protest against his arrest.
Khan and dozens of his party leaders and supporters were last week indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting the supporters to assault the military installations, including its headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Khan, 72, and his associates have denied the charges.
Hamid, considered to be close to Khan, who named him to head the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, has been in military custody since the opening of court martial proceedings against him in August.
Hamid’s indictment is a direct threat to Khan, said author and defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. “If the military is saying that they both are involved in May 9 violence, they are basically saying that Imran Khan could also be tried in a military court.”
Other charges against Hamid include misuse of authority and government resources, the military said, adding that his “involvement in events related to creating agitation and unrest, leading up to multiple incidents including but not limited to the May 9 incident for fomenting instability at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests, is also being separately investigated.”
Hamid served under Khan as ISI chief from 2019 to 2021. Their ties caused tensions between Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa that led to the fall of the former cricket star from power in 2022, in a parliamentary vote that Khan alleges was backed by the military.
Pakistan’s powerful military, which has directly ruled the nation of 241 million people for more than 30 years in its 77-year independent history, denies the accusations.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; editing by Mark Heinrich and Ros Russell)
