The head of Pakistani intelligence was replaced most likely as the foreign actors applied the screws on the Prime Minister’s Office. This decision might erode PM Imran Khan’s domestic credibility.
The director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) directorate, which is one of the country’s most powerful institutions, has been replaced, following weeks of speculation. A press release issued by the Pakistani military announced that Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed would step down from his post of director of ISI, and will be replaced by Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum.
The appointment comes after nearly three weeks of an alleged standoff between the military and the government over the appointment of Pakistan’s new spymaster. The announcement came on October 27th, after a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the PM House in Islamabad where the two discussed a raft of issues including the appointment of the new ISI director general.
New ISI boss attended Royal College of Defence Studies, UK, and Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu.Gen Anjum commanded a brigade in Kurram Agency, led Frontier Corps (North) in Balochistan and remained commandant of Command and Staff College, Quetta before becoming corps commander, Karachi in December 2020. He has also served as Inspector-General of the Frontier Corps stationed in Balochistan from December 2016 to December 2018 and also served as Corp Commander of V Corps from December 2020 to October 2021. General has vast experience of command in conventional as well as sub conventional threat environment.
The induction of the new ISI Chief has been finalised after recording several successful anti-terrorism operations conducted by Lt. General Nadeem under his command by Frontier Corps, Balochistan. In fact, his endeavour towards preventing and eradicating elements of terrorism has been recognised countrywide and he earned the title of ‘Mohsin e Balochistan’ and the ‘man with glacier brain but sharp reflexes’ for his services.
General Hameed will now assume charge of Pakistan’s elite Corps XI in Peshawar, according to the press release.
Days before the transfer order of then ISI chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed was released, Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, lodged a petition in the Islamabad high court, claiming Faiz had engineered a judicial coup to get rid of Nawaz Sharif.
During the 2018 polls, Faiz Hameed who was then the deputy chief of the ISI, overlooking the internal security, had created a new front in South Punjab to cut into Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) votes. He also supported the Barelvi extremist party Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). General Faiz Hameed was also accused of hacking the Results Transmission System (RTS) on polling day to pave the way for large-scale rigging in the 2018 elections.
So, the Prime Minister Khan could be interested to save Faiz Hameed at his back at least until the next elections in 2023, to help him win the electoral battle. However, his replacement means a higher bid that might be made by foreign actor. Significantly, the ISI chief is being replaced at a time when the region is beset with controversies.
General Hameed’s removal from the top post at ISI had been speculated about for some time. His leadership in the ISI was marked by the spy agency’s increasingly close relations with the Afghan Taliban, as the group prepared to take back power in Afghanistan. Hameed’s activities in Afghanistan were strongly supported by Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who is believed to have fought to retain him as ISI director until the dust from the Taliban’s takeover settles in Kabul. The fact that Khan’s wish did not materialize is interesting, especially since, under Pakistani law, it is the prime minister’s office that appoints the director-general of the ISI. The procedure for appointment of the ISI director general is neither mentioned in the Constitution nor the Army Act, and all previous appointments were made as per traditions under which the army chief proposes three names to the prime minister who then makes the final decision.
Khan may have faced pressure from two fronts. First, from China, which is arguably Pakistan’s most important international ally. Beijing has been notably unhappy with the inability of the ISI to stop a string of armed attacks against Chinese workers, who are employed by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as well as other projects throughout Pakistan. These attacks have angered China, and have prompted strong calls for more security around Chinese-funded building projects in Pakistan. Beijing is believed to have asked for Hameed’s replacement as a result.
The Pakistani military leadership saw Hameed’s relationship-building program with the Afghan Taliban as having gone a few steps too far. The issue is not so much the relationship-building itself —on the contrary, the Pakistani military wants to be in a position to influence Afghanistan’s new masters. But Hameed stands accused of having maneuvered too visibly. The ISI strongman visited Kabul just days after the Taliban takeover and was photographed “sipping green tea [next to Taliban leaders] with a triumphant smile”. That angered the Americans and caused some Pakistani military leaders to believe that Washington might even impose sanctions on Islamabad.
The argument, therefore, is that Hameed’s replacement pleases the Chinese, the Americans and the Pakistani military. The only side that did not get its way is that of the prime minister. Time will show what this means for the future of civilian rule in the world’s only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority nation.
