By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The former head of the country’s powerful intelligence agency has appealed his conviction and 14-year prison sentence handed down by a military court this month, his lawyer said, marking the latest turn in a case that has exposed rare fissures within the country’s military establishment.
The ex-spymaster, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, who led the Inter-Services Intelligence agency from 2019 to 2021, was found guilty on Dec. 11 of four charges: engaging in political activities, violating the Official Secrets Act, misusing authority and government resources, and causing wrongful loss to persons. “We have filed an appeal against the sentence handed down to Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed by the military courts,” the lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq, said. “The appeal was submitted to the Registrar Court of Appeals, AG Branch, Chief of Army Staff.”
Hameed had a 40-day window to challenge the ruling under Section 133B of the Pakistan Army Act. The appeal will be reviewed by a Court of Appeals headed by a major general or higher-ranking officer designated by the army chief, who holds final authority to confirm, revise or overturn the sentence. In the past, such military appellate processes have dragged on for years.
The military’s media arm, the Inter-Services Public Relations, announced the verdict in a statement that described the proceedings as “lengthy and laborious legal proceedings” spanning more than 15 months. The court-martial began on Aug. 12, 2024, under provisions of the Army Act. “After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, the accused has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Court which has been promulgated on 11 December 2025,” the ISPR statement then said.
The military emphasized that the trial complied with all legal requirements, granting Hameed full rights, including the choice of his defense team. It also noted his right to appeal at the relevant forum. In the statement, Hameed was referred to as “Mr Faiz Hameed, formerly a lieutenant general,” fueling speculation that he had been stripped of his rank, though officials did not confirm it explicitly.
Officials familiar with internal procedures said any such action would be carried out through an administrative order under established rules but declined to say if it had happened here. The case stems from allegations by Kanwar Moeez Khan, the owner of the Top City housing development near Islamabad, who accused Hameed, then a major general in the ISI, and two other officers of orchestrating a raid on his home and offices in 2017. Khan claimed they seized valuables, coerced him into paying Rs40 million and financing a private television channel.
The complaint resurfaced in 2023, when Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed Khan to pursue remedies through the defence ministry, prompting a formal military inquiry. A Court of Inquiry in April 2024 found sufficient grounds to proceed, leading to Hameed’s arrest that August. Though the Army Act generally limits actions against retired personnel to within six months of retirement, the case invoked Section 2(d), extending jurisdiction to certain offenses, along with exceptions under Sections 31 and 40 for crimes involving mutiny, insubordination or fraudulent property dealings, allowing proceedings regardless of time elapsed.
The charge sheet detailed four categories of misconduct: post-retirement political engagement, breaches of secrecy laws, misuse of authority including the 2017 raid, and coercive actions causing loss to Khan. The probe expanded to include retired Brig. Ghaffar, retired Brig. Naeem Fakhar and retired Col. Asim, though the verdict did not specify outcomes for them. The military statement then added that Hameed’s alleged involvement in “fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cohorts with political elements and in certain other matters is separately being dealt with,” hinting at potential additional inquiries.
Hameed, who retired in November 2022, has become a polarising figure in Pakistan, where the military has governed for nearly half the country’s history and wields outsized influence even under civilian rule. His conviction is extraordinary. He is the first former ISI director general and only the second three-star general in the nation’s history to face a full military trial and prison term.
He was widely viewed as an ally of Imran Khan, the former prime minister ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022. The military has accused Hameed of aiding political unrest, including the violent protests on May 9, 2023, when Khan’s supporters rioted across the country after his brief arrest on corruption charges, torching government and military buildings “at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests.”
Khan, imprisoned since August 2023 on charges he calls politically motivated, has denied orchestrating the attacks. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party has also blamed Hameed for engineering the 2017 ouster of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif through court cases. Hameed has denied those claims.
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