Islamabad: Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that former chief of Pakistani intelligence agency ‘Inter-Services Intelligence’ (ISI) Lieutenant General (Retired) Faiz Hameed was an ‘asset’ for the country, who was ‘ruined’. Hameed has been arrested to face court martial action under army laws for allegedly misusing his position while serving as Director General of ISI. Imran Khan also said that the arrest is an internal matter of the army. He made this remark while addressing reporters at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after hearing a case.
What did Imran Khan say
Khan said, “It is their internal matter, what can I say in this?” Khan, however, expressed his feeling for the former top officer of the country, saying, “He (Hameed) was our ‘asset’, who was ruined.” Hameed, who headed the ISI from 2019 to 2021, is considered close to the then Prime Minister Khan. When Hameed was transferred as the army chief, Khan refused to support the move, leading to a confrontation between the army and the ISI and resulting in his removal from the post.
Imran took the name of Qamar Javed Bajwa
Khan claimed that former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa had removed Hameed at the behest of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif. Khan also said that he had a heated argument with General Bajwa over the removal of Hameed. The former prime minister also said that there were reports from the Intelligence Bureau that Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has been found sitting with Bajwa several times. He said that if Hameed is being held accountable, then everyone should be held accountable.
