Committee formed to probe ‘land grabbing’ allegations against Faiz Hameed

Committee formed to probe ‘land grabbing’ allegations against Faiz Hameed

Rawalpindi (Web Desk): The Pakistan Army has initiated an inquiry against former Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed over allegations of misuse of authority.

Media reports aired on Wednesday said the committee had been formed by the military as a gesture of self-accountability and will be headed by a serving major general.

They said the committee was formed in the light of directives of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Defence.

Sources privy to the development said Pakistan Army has decided to investigate all the cases through a high-level institutional inquiry, furthering its accountability process. “A high-level inquiry committee has been constituted under a Major General, which will look at every aspect related to this matter in detail,” the sources added.

The management of Top City, a private housing scheme, had levelled grave allegations against the former ISI chief, claiming that he had orchestrated a raid on the offices and residence of its owner, Moeez Khan.

In last November, the Supreme Court had asked the owner of the housing society to approach the relevant quarters, including the defence ministry, for the redressal of his grievances against the former spymaster and his aides.

The petition filed before the top court stated that on May 12, 2017, on the behest of Gen Faiz, ISI officials raided the top city office and his house. During the raid, valuables, including gold, diamonds and money, were seized from the house by ISI officials, the petitioner alleged.

The petition also stated that Sardar Najaf, the brother of Faiz, also contacted him to resolve the issue later.

The petition also claimed that Gen Faiz later personally met him to resolve the issue, in which he assured that some of the items which had been taken away by the ISI officials during the raid would be returned. However, 400 tolas of gold and cash will not be returned to him.