In 2018, Pakistan military tried to establish a hybrid civilian-military administration by installing a democratically elected leader but installed by the army. In this attempt to execute totalitarian control in democratic garb, the triad of a military-selected leader, Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and the ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence) chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed came into being.  However, this experiment soon failed with the ousting of Imran Khan and his government in 2022. Along with the arrests of Imran Khan, his wife and several of his party workers, many serving military officers of various cadres were also interrogated and arrested on numerous charges.

Trifecta reign and its downfall

The transition of power from Gen Raheel Sharif to Gen Bajwa led to the instrumental rise of Imran Khan and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in 2018, thus setting up a form of a “hybrid regime” in Pakistan. This entailed a military-backed civilian candidate who would be elected through a guided democratic process that allowed the military to retain close control of the government while keeping the large sections of the population happy by keeping a popular leader at the helm. 

Since the conception of Pakistan, its military has been known to engineer the political path for the nation. When the tenure of Gen Bajwa came to an end, in his farewell speech he stated “In my opinion, the reason for this is the constant meddling by the army in politics for the last 70 years, which is unconstitutional,” he said. “That is why, since February last year, the military has decided they will not interfere in any political matter.”

This did not resonate well with Imran Khan and his PTI workers. Khan’s government was not very proactive in maintaining ties with the US, even though the army tried to maintain relations with their American counterparts. Given such a disposition, Khan accused Gen Bajwa of conspiring with the US to topple his government. 

In April 2022, Imran Khan was impeached and arrested on various grounds of corruption. However, no substantial evidence was found despite his serving a year in jail, and most charges against him were dropped or dismissed.  Several military officers and Khan’s supporters were either detained or imprisoned on grounds of treason or anarchy against the government.  

Arrest of former ISI chief

Amongst the arrests, the news of the detention of the former ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, by the Pakistan military on 12 August 2024 caused ripples across Pakistan and beyond. The Supreme court had ordered his arrest after he was charged with misconduct, corruption and political interference, Court martial proceedings were launched against him. 

“Complying with the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan . . . the process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retd) has been taken into military custody,” the Pakistan Army stated. 

Hameed was a favourite of the PTI government. There were reports that Imran Khan expected to keep Hameed as the ISI chief beyond his extended term. The close ties shared with Imran Khan was regarded as the cause for Hameed’s arrest. Imran Khan on the other hand stated that the arrest of the former spy master was done with the intent to force Hameed into becoming a state witness against him (Khan) in the May 9, 2023 riots. 

The May 9 riots erupted soon after Khan  was arrested. A mob of supporters and workers from PTI stormed and vandalized a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. It was alleged that Hameed had colluded with the PTI workers to orchestrate these events.

Since Hameed’s arrest, Khan has called for a “transparent trial” for Hameed. The former PM for good measure that upon the retirement of the former ISI chief, the individual became “insignificant” to him, serving no benefit. Khan also expressed the hope that the trial against him should be conducted through a civil court and not a military court as he was a civilian leader and not a military person. 

At the time of the appointment of the COAS, Gen Asim Munir, it was said that Gen Bajwa was against appointing Gen Munir as his successor. However, Nawaz Sharif insisted on the appointment based on the seniority principle and was against an extension for Gen Bajwa as COAS.

Since Gen Munir came to power, PTI workers and people considered close to the previous Gen Bajwa regime have faced prosecution and arrest. The arrest of the former Lt Gen Hameed therefore came as no surprise. Besides him, three other retired officers have been detained by the military in relation to Hameed’s case.

Lt Gen Hameed, who served as the 24th  Director-General of ISI from 2019 to 2021, has been famously known as a “India baiter”. His rise to global prominence came from several media reports in 2021, with images of the visit of the ISI chief to Kabul a month after Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. Prior to Hameed’s visit, the engagements of ISI chief had always remained clandestine, and an exception seemed to have been made for his publicised trip to Kabul. Several Images of Lt.Gen Hameed and Pakistan’s Ambassador Mansoor Ali Khan having tea at Kabul’s Serena Hotel surfaced on social media. While the purpose stated of Hameed’s visit was to seek “peace and stability” in Afghanistan and to get the first-hand account of the ground situation post the takeover by the Taliban, it revealed ISI’s critical role in aiding Taliban to power with Hameed as the key mediator in brokering peace between the Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Baradar network at the time.

ISI's failed Taliban project

The symbiosis between the ISI  and the Haqqanis could also be attributed to the attacks orchestrated by the Haqqani Network on the Indian Embassy in Kabul as well as to sway the Sunni Pashtun force in a direction aligned to Pakistan’s interest.  Additionally, under Hameed’s command,  reports of the induction of Pakistan Army regulars in the anti-resistance operations against the Resistance Force led by Commander Amrullah Saleh in Panjshir Valley were conducted.

However, despite Hameed’s consistent aid to Taliban and Pakistan’s desire for a "strategic depth" in Afghanistan, the Taliban moved away from being projected as ISI’s puppet. The Afghan Taliban’s undetermined effort in fostering a peace deal with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Pakistan failed. 

By 2022, the TTP called off the ceasefire on Pakistan. Negotiations for a peace agreement between a delegation led by Hameed and TTP leaders in Khost, Afghanistan failed. Even though during the proceeding negotiations, core commanders of TTP, Muhammed Khan and Muslim Khan, were released by Islama ad, it did not serve any benefit to Pakistan. Since then, the TTP has ravaged Pakistan with their persistent attacks and it would not be surprising that Hameed may be held responsible for the breakdown in negotiations with the TTP.

Besides the TTP threat, Pakistan frequently faces the cross-border skirmishes  in areas around the Durand Line which still remain as an area of dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afghans view the border as an artificial entity and do not recognize the Durand Line which Pakistan inherited post 1947. Afghanistan has claimed certain areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a part of their territory and view Pakistan as the illegal occupiers of their land. Hence, there have been several border skirmishes between the security forces of both nations.

China factor in Pakistan military actions

To exacerbate the matter, Pakistan’s relations with China and the presence of Chinese workers in the area have also served as reason for mistrust amongst the local habitants in these regions, who view the Chinese presence as a form of planned displacement of their communities to accommodate the Chinese exploitation of their land. This has resulted in attacks on  the Chinese citizens who were assigned to BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) projects in Pakistan. Later, at the behest of China, Pakistan decided to carry out a large-scale military operation to neutralize the threats especially around the Durand Line. This has resulted in rallies and ‘jirgas’ (tribal assemblies) being held in many cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by Baloch rebels. 

Additionally, the repatriation of thousands Afghan refugees back to their homeland from Pakistan has also sparked further tensions between Kabul and Islamabad. The Pakistan government is of the view that many Afghan refugees may be part of sleeper cells taking part in organized crimes. Pakistan has blamed Afghanistan for being lenient in their approach towards the TTP and has accused the Taliban of allowing the anti-Pakistan elements to carry operations from Afghanistan while also providing safe havens to them. 

The reign of the "hybrid government" in Pakistan has ended with Gen Munir's military wresting its socio-economic and political control.  The arrest of the former ISI spymaster has been made into an example for those who dared act against the military. It would be no surprise if Gen Bajwa himself comes under threat, given that Gen Bajwa had publicly stated that during his tenure the military had “meddled in the political, foreign and economic affairs of the country", which in his own words was a "violation of the constitution”.

(The writer is an Indian research analyst specializing in AF/Pak region and counter-terrorism. Views are personal. She can be contacted at aparnarawal@gmail.com)