‘Allegations on Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, if true, would undermine reputation of federal government, armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers’: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a written order addressing the allegations made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Top City-1 Housing Society against the former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed.

The Supreme Court observed that allegations leveled by the private housing society CEO against the former spy chief are of an “extremely serious nature” and would tarnish the reputation of the federal government if proven true.

Topcity owner's plea against ex DG ISI Faiz Hameed:
Supreme Court written order says that the allegations are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal govt, the Armed Forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they… pic.twitter.com/iZdEUdFy7U

— Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) November 14, 2023

The observations come as the top court issued a written order for the November 8 hearing of the petition filed by Moeez Ahmed Khan against the former general.

The three-member bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, alongside Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aminuddin Khan, had disposed of the constitutional petition last week.

The petitioner, Moeez Ahmed Khan, had alleged abduction by retired army officers, including Gen Faiz.

The written order said: “The allegations are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they cannot be left unattended.”

The court noted that Moeez may have reservations that a complaint filed in the Ministry of Defence would not be entertained because the accused held senior positions in the armed forces.

“However, the learned AAG (Additional Attorney General) has assured us that the complaint/grievance will be given due consideration, and we have no reason to doubt this statement made on behalf of the government of Pakistan,” the court noted in its order, adding that the apprehension of the applicant is “misplaced.”

“Accordingly, if the applicant (Moeez Ahmed Khan) submits a complaint/grievance to the Ministry of Defence of the government of Pakistan, it shall be dealt with in accordance with law,” Chief Justice Isa observed as he disposed of the matter.

Additionally, the order granted the applicant the liberty to explore other legal remedies as per the established legal procedures.

The Petition

As per the petition, on May 12, 2017, the Pakistan Rangers and officials of the ISI raided the office of Top City and Moeez’s residence and took away valuables, including gold and diamond ornaments and money, in connection with a purported terrorism case.

“On May 12, 2017, my house and office were raided on the orders of General (Rtd) Faiz Hamid. During the raid, valuables and records of our private housing society were stolen,” the petitioner had claimed.

The petition further stated that Gen Hameed’s brother Sardar Najaf mediated and tried to resolve the issue. After his acquittal, the petition claimed, Gen Hameed contacted Moeez through the latter’s cousin — a brigadier in the army — to arrange a meeting.

The petition claimed that during the meeting, Gen Hameed told the petitioner that he would return some of the items taken away during the raid except for 400 tola gold and cash.

The petition claimed that retired brigadier Naeem Fakhar and retired brigadier Ghaffar of the ISI allegedly “forced” the petitioner to “pay 4 crores in cash” and “sponsor a private AAP TV network for a few months”.

As per the petition, former ISI officials Irtaza Haroon, Sardar Najaf, Wasim Tabish, Zahid Mehmood Malik, and Mohammad Munir were also “involved in the illegal takeover of the housing society”.