Former ISI chief Faiz Hameed will appeal his 14-year hard-labour sentence, calling the military trial a “sham”. His team alleges no due process, as Pakistan’s political-military tensions deepen.
The former head of Pakistan's powerful spy agency will appeal a 14-year hard labour sentence on charges including abuse of power, his lawyer said Friday, decrying a "sham" military trial.
Faiz Hameed, who ran Inter-Services Intelligence during the tenure of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, was detained in 2024 following claims he raided the businesses of a real estate developer in a shakedown attempt, according to Supreme Court documents.
The army said on Thursday that a military court had convicted him of several charges including "engaging in political activities" and causing "wrongful loss to persons", sentencing him to 14 years of "rigorous imprisonment".
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What Faiz Hameed's Lawyer Said
The former spy chief's lawyer Ali Ashfaq told AFP that he planned to appeal the prison sentence "within the next few days".
The lawyer said he had not yet received a copy of the military court ruling, and that Faiz Hameed's defence team or family had not been notified in advance "to ensure the presence or availability of lawyers at the time of the judgement".
"My client categorically rejects the charges from the beginning of such sham trial proceedings," Ashfaq added.
Faiz Hameed was a staunch supporter of Khan, the cricket star who upended Pakistani politics by winning the premiership in 2018.
Initially a strong backer of the country's powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan's supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
Political Motive? PTI Sees a Message for Imran Khan
A PTI spokesman, Zulfi Bukhari, said that "it would surprise no one" if Faiz Hameed was being "punished only to manufacture graver allegations and cases against Imran Khan".
Political analyst Arifa Noor told AFP of the sentencing that "everything is a message for Imran Khan these days, including this".
Lawyer Ashfaq said that the charge of political activity against his client "is totally baseless".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
