Hameed replaces Munir as ISI chief in reshuffle

ISLAMABAD: In a reshuffle, the Pakistan army has announced that Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed the director general of premier spy agency Inter-services Intelligence (ISI).

Gen Hameed replaced Lt Gen Asim Munir, who had been posted as the spymaster in October.

Gen Munir’s eight-month stint as the ISI chief was probably one of the shortest among those who had served this office.

Gen Hameed was on his promotion as lieutenant general in April appointed as Adjutant General at the General Headquarters (GHQ). He previously served in the ISI as the head of internal security and is believed to be a close confidant of Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had at a press conference on July 10, 2018 profusely praised Hameed for his role in fighting terrorism.

“People have started naming Gen Faiz Hameed. They probably don’t even know his role. You can’t even think of the role played by his department in the fight against terrorism. Even if what you are speculating is true, it is not even 5 per cent of what that institution and Gen Faiz Hameed’s department are doing. All these terrorist incidents that I tell you have been averted are because of Gen Faiz Hameed’s department,” Ghafoor had on that occasion said in reference to some allegations by the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N).

Gen Hameed’s name first caught public eye when he helped end Faizabad Islamabad sit-in by a religious group in November 2017 through an agreement. The group had then staged the sit-in against amendments to Elections Act 2017. Gen Hameed is from the Army’s Baloch Regiment.

His appointment comes at a very crucial time when both external and internal security challenges seem to be growing. It is believed that his vast experience at ISI may help him deal with those challenges.

The appointment of the ISI chief is the prerogative of the prime minister. The spymaster’s choice is, however, made by the prime minister in consultation with the army chief.

Gen Hameed’s predecessor Gen Munir has, meanwhile, been named as the new corps commander Gujranwala.

Prior to his stint in ISI, Gen Munir headed Military Intelligence as its director general. There were very few examples of a Military Intelligence chief being posted as the head of ISI. Gen Bajwa had picked Gen Munir as the Military Intelligence chief months ater assuming command of the Army in November 2016.