Asif claims Faiz engineered Imran's power grab

Minister says ex-ISI chief ran the state from shadows

SIALKOT:

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday directly linked former ISI chief Faiz Hameed to the removal of Nawaz Sharif from office in 2017, accusing the ex-spymaster of orchestrating a long-running political project that culminated in Imran Khan's rise to power and inflicted "significant damage" on the country.

Sharpening his tone days after the rare conviction, the minister said those who gambled with the country's future for power had forfeited the right to be called Pakistanis, "whether they wore a uniform like Faiz or a waistcoat and Peshawari sandals like Imran".

He warned that further legal proceedings against Hameed were looming.

Addressing a news conference in Sialkot, Asif also raked up the ruling party's long trail of protests and lament, alleging that Nawaz Sharif's removal was the product of a carefully engineered conspiracy designed to clear the path for PTI founder Imran Khan's ascent to power.

"The removal of Nawaz, the cases lodged against him, the allegations, and Imran's coming into power, this whole project was enacted under the supervision of Faiz Hameed," he said, adding that Hameed and his "partner" Imran Khan were jointly responsible for destabilising the country.

Referring to the 2018 general elections, he said Hameed was "in charge of project Imran" and asserted, "Faiz was the most important part of that government".

"A former head of ISI has been convicted in a trial that ran for 15 months. There are still other charges on which legal proceedings will be initiated soon."

According to the minister, the former spymaster played a central role in suppressing political opponents during PTI's tenure. "He used to threaten and imprison political opponents," Asif said.

He further argued that Imran's political "vision" was executed through Hameed, who was Imran's primary beneficiary. He termed that a "shameful" chapter in Pakistan's history.

Asif alleged that "bringing Imran into power, lodging cases against Nawaz, exiling him, imprisoning his family and his party leaders and workers", was all carried out under Hameed's direction.

He claimed the former ISI chief "was given the opportunity to govern Pakistan through Imran" and said parliament itself had been sidelined. "Decisions for the country's future used to be made in the backyard of the prime minister's house," he said, adding that legislation was dictated to lawmakers during that period.

He said the project began to fall apart after Hameed's transfer, though he continued to facilitate Imran while serving as a corps commander. Asif further accused Hameed of involvement in the violent unrest of May 9, 2023.

"It was his planning; people within the institution also played a part, but the manpower was PTI workers," he said. "It was a joint venture by General Faiz," he added, before briefly correcting himself: "I keep saying general because it has only been four days since his title was revoked."

The defence minister maintained that those now seeking to revive Imran's political fortunes were operating on foundations laid by Hameed. "The conspirators attempting to prop up Imran today and bring him back to power, all these seeds were sown by Faiz."

"These two personalities cannot be separated."

Decrying the May 9 violence as an attack on the sanctity of the armed forces, Asif contrasted it with national pride in the wake of the military's operation Bunyan ul Marsoos against India in May, which earned Pakistan international recognition. "Now imagine, if Faiz and Imran's plans had succeeded, where would we be today?" he asked.

"God forbid, if the Faiz-Imran nexus still existed, perhaps there would not have been a need for war at all since they would have ensured the country's destruction from the inside."

The defence minister pledged to continue the accountability process, saying Pakistan's enemies will be held accountable.

"Those who have put the country's future at stake for power cannot be considered Pakistanis. Whether they are in uniform like Faiz or in a waistcoat and Peshawari sandals like Imran," he said.