ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former intelligence chief Lt. Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed has appealed his sentencing to 14 years in prison by a Pakistani military court, Hameed’s lawyer said.
Hameed was arrested in August 2024 amid accusations he was involved in land grabbing and coercive seizures of property belonging to the owner of the Top City housing development near Islamabad.
At the time, the military said multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after his retirement had also been established, prompting court martial proceedings.
On December 11, Pakistan’s military announced that Hameed was found guilty of engaging in political activities, violating the Official Secrets Act and misusing authority and government resources as the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
“We have filed an appeal against the sentence handed down to Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed by the military court. The appeal was submitted to the Registrar Court of Appeals, AG Branch, Chief of Army Staff,” Hameed’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq told Arab News on Sunday, without providing further details.
Hameed served as the ISI director-general from 2019 to 2021. His conviction is highly unusual in the country’s military history.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, had said that Hameed was tried on four charges relating to political interference, breaches of the Official Secrets Act, misuse of authority and causing “wrongful loss to persons.”
“After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, accused has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Court which has been promulgated on 11 December 2025,” the ISPR said on December 11.
Hameed was widely seen as close to Imran Khan when he was the prime minister and after his removal in a no-trust vote in 2022.
The military had previously accused Hameed of helping engineer political unrest during violent clashes on May 9, 2023, when Imran Khan’s supporters violently rioted nationwide after his brief arrest on graft charges.
Protesters were accused of torching government and military buildings “at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests.” Khan, jailed since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated, denies ordering the attacks.
In its December 11 statement, the military said the trial against Hameed complied with all legal requirements, adding that the former spy chief was given full rights, including the ability to choose his defense team, and retained the right to appeal “at the relevant forum.”
The ISPR also said his alleged role in “fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cahoots with political elements” was being handled separately, leading to speculation about more inquiries and legal cases.
Hameed, who retired in December 2022, has long been a polarizing figure. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also accuses him of helping engineer the 2017 removal of former premier Nawaz Sharif through court cases. Hameed denied the allegations.
“This is a landmark decision and I think the rule of law and accountability mechanism has been strengthened,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who belongs to the PMLN-N, had told a Pakistani broadcaster after the announcement of the verdict against Hameed.
