Ex-Spymaster Faiz Hameed Says He Will “Never Join Politics”

Former DG ISI, Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed has told The News that said that he will never join politics.

The recently retired general said that all speculations about his joining politics or leading the PTI were totally false. “I will not join politics after two-year bar nor afterwards,” he categorically said.

Faiz Hameed, the former ISI chief who had been widely discussed in the politics and media as the most favorite choice of Imran Khan for the post of army chief, was contacted for his views on his reported intention to join politics, and on rumors about whether he would lead the PTI.

Video footage went viral on social media on Thursday, showing Faiz Hameed attending a gathering in his native village in Chakwal where a local politician praised the retired general for his services in the military and for all he did for the development of the area. The speaker urged the retired general to join politics and play his role in the development of the country.

When asked about rumors that he was the ‘original chairman’ of PTI who would take reins of the party if Imran Khan gets disqualified or jailed, Faiz purportedly replied, “All false”. Later, he said that he will neither join politics, nor the PTI, even after the two year legal ban on him expires.

Regarding the video, Faiz explained that he was in hometown of Chakwal where his relatives and locals often visit him. One of the locals, while speaking on the occasion, requested him to join politics and “lead Pakistan towards a prosperous future”. In the video, Faiz can be seen but any remarks or statements he made at the occasion have not been made public so far.

Many in the media and national politics see the retired general as a great sympathizer and promoter of Imran Khan in particular, and his PTI in general. Faiz Hameed is generally blamed for using ISI’s muscles to benefit the politics of Khan, and suppress his opponents, from 2017 up till his ouster from the agency in late 2021.