General Faiz Hameed and his rise to prominence
The Pak-army is arguably the most influential institution in Pakistan, with the military having ruled the country for nearly half of its 71-year history since independence from Britain and enjoying extensive powers even under civilian administrations.
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed HI(M) is a three-star rank general in the Pakistan Army. He is the 24th Director-General of the spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence.
On April 12, the Pakistan Army promoted then-major general Hameed to the rank of lieutenant general and appointed him adjutant general at the General Headquarters (GHQ) later that month. He was previously serving as the head of the counter-intelligence wing of the ISI.
Reports suggest that Hameed’s rise to prominence began during protests by a religious group in Islamabad in 2017. The group, called Tehreek-e-Labbaik, was protesting against a change in the oath of office in the Elections Act. Hameed had reportedly helped broker a deal that ended the protests.
Following amendments to Election Act 2017, the TLP had staged a sit-in at the Faizabad Interchange in Islamabad in 2017, paralyzing the capital for almost three weeks.
On November 27, 2017, TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi announced he was ending the protest. He said that an “army-brokered” agreement had taken place between the protesters and the government. He said he appreciated that the army chief had taken a personal interest in solving the issue by sending General Hameed.
When the agreement signed between protesters and the army surfaced on the media, people noticed that it bore the signature of General Hameed.
For Hameed, reports indicate that the challenge would be to handle both the internal and the external security issues for Pakistan. With the amount of power that the ISI allegedly wields within Pakistan, Hameed assumes a position that remains within shadows but can practically run the country, reports have suggested.
Hameed would also need to handle the rising Pashtun movement, which has been raging a storm in north-western Pakistan, close to the Afghanistan border.
DG ISPR denies speculations about changing DG ISI – The Pakistan Daily https://t.co/i9RTxEboCV
— Reham Khan (@RehamKhan1) February 22, 2021
Responding to a question, DG ISPR maintained rumours on social media regarding the appointment of the next DG ISI are “baseless”
👉 Link: https://t.co/6BArbs9338#CapitalTV #DGISPR #Rawalpindi #OperationRaddulFasaad #DGISI @OfficialDGISPR @peaceforchange pic.twitter.com/csDEJLq2dp
— Capital TV (@CTV_Digital) February 22, 2021
High Alert : There going to be shortage of #Burnol across country in a few days.
New #DGISI our very own, one of of the most loved person @peaceforchange
— Syed Atif Bukhari (@Atif0030) February 19, 2021
‘Don’t speculate further’: DG ISPR dismisses reports of ISI chief being replaced https://t.co/nxxAFxcooQ
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) February 22, 2021
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed appointed as New DG of #ISI ❤
Happy #FathersDay to India 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/ZeIJImydVQ— Aamir Liaquat Husain (@AamirLiaquat) June 16, 2019
