Ex-ISI chief Faiz part of Imran’s conspiracy to spread unrest: Pak govt

81

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has accused jailed former premier Imran Khan of masterminding a political conspiracy, along with a former ISI chief and others, to sow anarchy and disharmony in the country, according to media reports.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder was spreading unrest across the country and former ISI chief Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was part of the conspiracy, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Hameed, who served as director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021 when Khan was the prime minister, was arrested following action in the complaint of a private property developer over alleged misuse of official authority.

Later, several others, including three retired military officers, were also arrested in connection with the court martial of Hameed.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Tarar hinted that the ambit of the probe against Lt Gen (retd.) Hameed and his other “co-conspirators” would be widened in days to come, Dawn newspaper reported. Tarar said that in the wake of Hameed’s arrest, the army conducted transparent investigations as they have their mechanism of internal accountability.

Referring to the arrests, the information minister claimed that Khan had conspired with these people to spread anarchy in the country.

“This was a political alliance, led by the PTI founder, which was linked with Gen Faiz and other accomplices,” he said, adding that the ambit of the investigation would widen.

“No matter if someone is Saqib or Nisar, things will proceed transparently,” he said, referring to former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party accuses of propping up the PTI regime and targeting their political opponents. Meanwhile, Khan seemed to endorse claims that he and Hameed were close.