• Says possibility of Faiz Hameed’s role in events of May 9 ‘should be investigated’
• Accuses top functionaries of being part of ‘London Plan’ to topple his govt
• Two more jail officials detained in hunt for ex-PM’s facilitators

ISLAMABAD / RAWALPINDI: Having distanced himself from the former spy chief after news of his court martial became public, PTI founder Imran Khan on Thursday welcomed the process of ‘internal accountability’ initiated by the military, and called for across-the-board action.

He was speaking to reporters at Adiala jail after the hearing of a £190 million corruption case. Commenting on a statement by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — alluding to the alleged involvement of retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in the May 9 protests following his arrest — the former PM said that “if Faiz Hameed was involved, it should be investigated”.

Hameed was head of the premier Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency during Mr Khan’s term in office.

In a separate development, two more officials of the Punjab Prisons Department were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies for investigation as the probe to find alleged facilitators of incarcerated PTI founder in prison moved ahead.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Khan pointed out that the May 9 protests started after his illegal arrest on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), adding that this also needed to be probed, as those who ordered his arrest were responsible for the violent protests.

He said that the arsonists could be identified with the help of the CCTV footage and added that the footage would exonerate him of all charges.

The PTI leader also alleged that the May 9 incidents were also part of the ‘London Plan’, supposedly devised to topple his regime, and accused the chief justice of Pakistan, the IHC chief justice, and the chief election commissioner of being part of the plot. He pointed out that the former Rawalpindi commissioner also “exposed” rigging in the Feb 8 elections.

It should be noted, however, that at the time of Mr Khan’s ouster, Umar Atta Bandial was the chief justice of Pakistan, while Justice Athar Minallah had not been elevated to the Supreme Court and was still heading the Islamabad High Court. Although some interpreted the ex-PM’s remarks on Thursday as a reference to the incumbents — Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and IHC CJ Aamer Farooq — both were not in office in April 2022, when Mr Khan’s government was sent home following a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly.

The ex-PM claimed that former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had hatched a conspiracy against the PTI government for his extension.

He said that Gen Bajwa removed Gen Faiz Hameed from the post of the ISI chief on the demand of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and this development had created a rift between the office of the prime minister and the army chief. Mr Khan said that he wanted Gen Faiz to retain his position because of his contacts with the Taliban regime.

Adiala probe

Following the detention of a former deputy superintendent on Wednesday for acting as a ‘messenger’ for the incarcerated PTI leader, two more officials were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies for investigation.

One of them is a retired deputy superintendent and another is serving as an assistant at the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Prison (Rawalpindi Region). According to sources, the exact role of the assistant cannot be ascertained at this point; however, two orderlies and three warders have also been made part of the investigation. The sources said that the two orderlies and three warders had been working under the former deputy superintendent during his posting at the Adiala jail.

Muhammad Akram had been deta­ined from his residence on Wednesday. The Punjab home department had removed Mr Akram, deputy superintendent (executive) of Central Jail Adiala from his post and directed him to report to the Inspectorate of Prison Punjab, Lahore in June this year. However, he had been residing with his family in the Police Colony of the Adiala jail.

On the other hand, surveillance of the barracks where the PTI founder had been incarcerated was further tightened and additional staff was also deployed.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024