Battles behind the shadows

The arrest of Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed may be linked to political and military tensions in Pakistan- highlighting deep-seated issues within the country's power structure and the Army's unchecked influence

- SHANTANU MUKHARJI

Pakistan has always been in the news for wrongdoings emanating from its military, security establishment, alongside political fallacies, diplomatic errors and erroneous judgements.

This is being specifically highlighted in light of the recent arrest of Lt General (Retired) Faiz Hameed former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief-by the current government, apparently for political reasons. A Pakistan Army general who once seemed all-powerful has now been arrested by his own institution for a series of shocking crimes.

Faiz Hameed has been taken into custody by the military and now faces a field general court martial for violating the Army Act, according to an announcement made by the armed forces' media wing on August 12. The arrest is connected to a complaint about the criminal intimidation and extortion of a senior executive of a private housing society, the military said, and is in line with a Supreme Court directive issued in November last year in response to a petition filed by the victim. The victim alleged that he was robbed of tens of millions of rupees worth of gold and other assets by armed forces personnel acting on Lt General Hameed's specific orders and was later forced to finance a private TV channel with this money.