Islamabad: The Pakistan government has accused jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan of hatching a political conspiracy with the former ISI chief and others to spread anarchy and disharmony in the country, according to media reports. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was spreading unrest across the country and former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was part of the conspiracy, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Hameed was the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021 when Khan was the Prime Minister. Hameed was arrested following a complaint by a builder over alleged misuse of powers. Later, several others, including three retired military officers, were also arrested in connection with Hameed’s court martial. At a press conference on Saturday, Tarar indicated that the scope of the investigation against Lt Gen (retd) Hameed and his other “co-conspirators” would be expanded in the coming days, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Tarar said the army had conducted a transparent investigation after Hameed’s arrest. Referring to the arrests, the information minister claimed that Khan had conspired with these people to spread anarchy in the country. “It was a political alliance led by the PTI founder, joined by General Faiz and other associates,” he said. He said the scope of the investigation would be expanded. “Whether it is Saqib or Nisar, things will proceed in a transparent manner,” the minister said, referring to former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party has accused him of helping the PTI regime and targeting Khan’s political opponents. Tarar alleged that evidence was emerging which showed that Khan was “in touch” with these conspirators during the no-confidence motion and even after being jailed. Meanwhile, just days after distancing himself from Hameed, who is facing court martial proceedings, Khan backed claims that he and the retired general were close. Khan said Hameed’s transfer to the Peshawar Corps was part of a conspiracy hatched against the PTI government, Dawn News reported. Khan claimed that the work was done by former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa at the behest of Nawaz Sharif.
