Faiz Hameed HI(M) (Punjabi & Urdu: فیض حمید) is a retired three-star general of the Pakistan Army and former spymaster who served as the 24th Director General of the ISI.[2][3][4] He was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment having served as GOC 16th Infantry Division Pano Akil.[5] He last served as Commander of the XXXI Corps before taking pre-mature retirement on 10 December 2022.[6][7]
Early life and family
Faiz was born in village of Latifal, Chakwal and joined the Pakistan Military Academy in 1987. He graduated from Command & Staff College, Quetta and was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army. He has three brothers, Sardar Sikandar Hayat, Sardar Najaf, and Sardar Khizar. His brother Sikandar Hayat died in 2016 in an accident while his brother Sardar Najaf Hameed is a land revenue officer in his hometown. Faiz Hameed's family belongs to Chakwal which is known for producing military commanders.[8]
Military career
Faiz was commissioned in the Pakistan Army's Baloch Regiment. He served as Adjutant General at the GHQ in Rawalpindi, Pakistan from April 2019 to June 2019. He previsouly served as head of the ISI from January 2017 to April 2019. He has remained GOC (General Officer Commanding) of 16 infantry divisions at Pano Akil Cantonment from June 2015 to January 2017 and DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from June 2019 to 6 October 2021. He also served as Corp Commander In Peshawar and Bahawalpur until his retirement.[8]
Director-General of the ISI (2019–2021)
Lt Gen Faiz Hameed previously served as head of the ISI (Counter Intelligence Wing). Later he served as Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) from June 2019 to 6 October 2021. He was the 24th Director-General of ISI. Lt Gen Faiz Hameed is best known for the role of chief spymaster. In September 2021, he visited Kabul just a month after the Afghan Taliban took control of the country and discussed the changes after the US withdrawal.
Activities in Kabul following the Taliban victory
During his tenure as Director-General of the ISI, he visited Kabul only a couple of weeks after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban.
When a reporter asked Hameed about what would happen now that the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Hameed smiled, and famously replied: "Don't worry, everything will be okay."[9]
Allegations of Judicial Manipulation
In 2018, the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) dismissed judge, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, accused Faiz Hameed of manipulating judicial proceedings in the Panama Papers case involving former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Siddiqui claimed that Faiz, who served as the Director General of the ISI at the time, sought a bench of his preference to hear appeals related to Nawaz Sharif and his family.
On January 22, 2024, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice (CJ) Qazi Faez Isa, addressed the sacked judge's petition. Notably, the petition was not entertained during the tenures of three former chief justices.[10]
Prior to the hearing, Faiz Hameed submitted his responses through Khawaja Haris. In defense against the accusations, the former ISI chief refuted the claims made by the former IHC judge, labeling them as "absolutely false, concocted, and based on an afterthought." Faiz clarified that the constitution of benches for hearing appeals fell under the purview of the IHC chief justice, not the petitioner, who was then the senior puisne judge.[10]
Effective dates of promotion
| Insignia | Rank | Date |
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Lieutenant General | April 2019 |
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Major General | Feb 2015[11] |
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Brigadier | |
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Colonel | |
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Lieutenant Colonel | |
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Major | |
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Captain | |
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Lieutenant | |
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Second Lieutenant | 1987 |
Awards and decorations
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| Hilal-e-Imtiaz
(Crescent of Excellence) (2018) |
Tamgha-e-Diffa
(General Service Medal) Siachen Glacier Clasp | ||
| Tamgha-e-Baqa
1998 |
Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan
2002 |
Tamgha-e-Azm
(Medal of Conviction) (2018) |
10 Years Service Medal |
| 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal | 35 Years Service Medal | Jamhuriat Tamgha
(Democracy Medal) 1988 |
| Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha
(Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 |
Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan
(Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1997 |
Command & Staff College Quetta
Student's Medal |
United Nations
(2 Deployments) |
Foreign decorations
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 United Nations
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UNMIK [citation needed] (Kosovo) Medal |
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References
- ^ "Evening the odds: Army provides training to Sindh policemen". 3 May 2015.
- ^ "Lt Gen Faiz Hameed named new DG ISI: govt spokesperson". Dawn. 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed new ISI chief". The News International. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "PM accepts Gen Faiz Hameed's request for early retirement". Daily Times. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
- ^ "Army to adopt govt schools, hospitals in Pano Akil cantonment". 29 December 2015.
- ^ "Pakistan Army appoints Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as Bahawalpur corps commander". The News International. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ https://www.aajenglish.tv/news/30306036/federal-cabinet-approves-retirement-of-lt-gen-faiz-hameed-lt-gen-azhar-abbas
- ^ a b "Who is Faiz Hameed? Biography". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "'Don't worry, everything will be okay': ISI chief during Kabul visit". Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Ex-spymaster rejects IHC judge's claims". The Express Tribune. 2024-01-22. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "28 brigadiers promoted to major generals".
External links
- Pakistan's ISI chief Faiz Hameed visits Kabul for meeting with Taliban (Business Standard, Sept. 5, 2021)
- ISI Chief Gen Faiz Hameed meets Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Taliban leaders in Kabul (Geo News, Sept. 5, 2021)
- 'Don't worry, everything will be okay': ISI chief during Kabul visit (Dawn News, Sept. 4, 2021)
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