Pakistan military’s 2018 gamble to install the former Pakistan cricketer-turned politician, Imran Khan, flopped with the ousting of the former prime minister 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.

Recently, on 12 August 2024, the former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was arrested by the Pakistan military. The Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the former chief. He was charged with misconduct, corruption and for abetting in political interference. Since then, court martial proceedings have been launched against him.

“Complying with the orders of 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. Since the conception of Pakistan, its military has been infamous for having influence over the country’s politics.

According to various reports presented against Hameed, there were allegations against him for allegedly harassing the owner of Islamabad’s ‘Top City’ housing scheme and society. Besides him, three other retired officers have been detained by the military in relation to Hameed’s case. But an important element to factor in, amidst all the said charges, is the undeniable close affiliation the former spy master has shared with the ousted prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

Khan has dismissed the charges against him as “frivolous and politically motivated,” even though he was forced to serve time in a jail for a year.

However, the appellate courts have since reversed, invalidated or suspended the charged convictions due to the lack of substantial evidence. But, the authorities in Islamabad seemed determine to file new cases against Khan in order to keep him in jail. Hence, the determination of the Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Gen Asim Munir to contain the political turbulence and to nail Imran Khan’s cronies should be no surprise with the arrest of his “top dog” spy master, Faiz Hameed.

The Former ISI Spy Chief, PMLN and the State

Lt Gen Faiz Hameed served as the 24th Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) from 2019 to 2021. He is known as the “India baiter” and Imran Khan’s affiliate.

It was reported that post-Taliban’s take over of Afghanistan in 2021, the chief had paid a visit to Kabul. The visits of the DG ISI had been clandestine in the past. However, it was not the case with his trip to Kabul. Several images of Lt Gen Faiz and Pakistan’s Ambassador Mansoor Ali Khan, having tea at Kabul’s Serena Hotel, surfaced on the social media. The purpose of Hameed’s visit was to seek “peace and stability” in Afghanistan and to get the first-hand account of the ground situation in Afghanistan. Despite the statements made by the former DG ISI, it was confirmed that the objective of his visit was to meet with the top Afghan leadership and certain foreign envoys in Kabul. Even though no official details were divulged at the time, it later came to light that the chief had brokered peace between the Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Baradar network.

The main promoter of Taliban had been Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who was also in favour of the Haqqani Network when the fight to take over Kabul erupted between the warring factions. The ISI has been reported in the past to have utilized the Haqqani Network to orchestrate attacks on the Indian Embassy in Kabul as well as to sway the Sunni Pashtun force in a direction inclined to Pakistan. Additionally, under Hameed’s command’s, 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.

It was inferred, that Pakistan’s consistent aid to Taliban rose from their desire for a strategic depth in Afghanistan, while nurturing an outfit such as Taliban to act as ISI’s puppet to curb the possible terror threats, which it incurs from Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However, the tables have turned since then. The disillusionment of the Pakistani government of controlling the Afghan Taliban shattered with Taliban’s lackadaisical and undetermined effort in fostering a peace deal with TTP and Pakistan. The TTP later called off the ceasefire with Pakistan in 2022. The negotiations were carried out between a delegation led by Faiz Hameed and TTP leaders in Khost, Afghanistan. Under the negotiations, corps commanders of TTP, Muhammed Khan and Muslim Khan were released. Since then, TTP has ravaged Pakistan with their persistent attacks.

Besides the TTP threat, Pakistan was also hopeful with regards to the Pakistan-Afghan border areas, which even though are demarcated by the Durand Line, still remain as areas of dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afghans view the border as an artificial entity and do not recognize the Durand line agreement, which Pakistan inherited post-1947. Afghanistan has claimed certain areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a part of their territory and views Pakistan as the illegal occupiers of their land. Hence, there have been several border skirmishes between the security forces of both nations. Pakistan’s relations with China and the presence of Chinese immigrants 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, with exploitation of their land. Several attacks were orchestrated on Chinese citizens, who were assigned to Sino-Pakistan projects by various insurgents and militant outfits. Later on, at the behest of China, Pakistan decided to carry out a large scale military operation – Azm-i-Istehkam – to neutralize the threats especially around the Durand Line. This has resulted in rallies and ‘jirgas’ (tribal councils) being held in many cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) due to the fear of mass displacement.

Additionally, the refoulement of Afghans back to their homeland from Pakistan has also sparked further tensions between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan government is of the view that many Afghan refugees may be sleeper cells or individuals involved in organized crimes. The inhibitions arising from the growing TTP threat and other offshoots remain to be a strong reason for Pakistan’s preventive course of action. Pakistan has blamed Kabul for being lenient in their approach towards the TTP and has blatantly made accusations of Taliban allowing the anti-Pakistan elements to carry out operations from Afghanistan, while also providing safe havens to them.

Furthermore, with Pakistan struggling economically, the decision for refoulement of undocumented Afghans has been considered prudent and imperative by Islamabad.

With the evolving political developments, dotted with several security and political threats erupting from Imran Khan’s PTI party opposing and clashing with the newly installed prime minister Shehbaaz Shariff’s PML-N, it was expected of the COAS Gen Aseem Munir to employ pre-emptive measures to wrest control over the state of affairs with the favoured political government installed by the military in power.

As a handpicked candidate of Imran Khan, Fiaz Hameed has been acknowledged for his involvement in Khan’s PTI party rioting across Pakistan on 9 May 9, 2023. This move was enough to upset Islamabad, given that PTI workers barged into and torched the official residence of the IV Corps commander in Lahore and also attempted to force themselves into the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Further reports of Hameed providing counsel to Khan after taking premature retirement from the army, also suggested of his abetment in the May 9 riots in 2023, which has been regarded as an anarchy against the military institution.

Additionally, Nawaz Sharif also asserted that Gen Hameed had colluded with few generals and individuals from higher judiciary to impeach him from power in 2017.

In 2017, Hameed became infamous for orchestrating anti-blasphemy protests against the PML-N government by the far-Right group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.

“The arrest of former ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed sends a clear signal to those still on the fence – there will be no compromise, no exceptions. Fall in line or face the consequences. The writing is on the wall,” stated Baqir Sajjad Syed, the national security correspondent of the influential Dawn newspaper.

Apart from various charges against Hameed, his personal swipe at the COAS Gen Munir for being a Shia in hopes of dismantling the Saudi-Pakistan relations and expecting the response to remove Munir or halt his appointment also, may have fanned the growing conflagration.

The Military Institution Always Wins in Pakistan After years of impunity, the reign of the former chief ended with the military usurping back its socio-economic and political control. The COAS, Gen Munir seems to have solidified his position with the removal of the puppet government set by the former COAS Gen Javed Qamar Bajwa. He has also carried out a witch hunt against the associates and close affiliates of Imran Khan. The arrest of Gen Bajwa’s former ISI spymaster also has been made into an example for those who would conspire against the current military regime. It would be no surprise if the security of the former COAS may also be under threat.

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The unthinkable is happening in the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi: the Pakistan Army is divided in its political loyalties. For the better part of 76 years, it was Pakistani politicians who have been divided in their loyalties to the Army GHQ. And the GHQ unfailingly picked their favourite politician and installed him or her in office, usually to rescue a Martial-Law-Administrator-turned-President from the hot seat. These roles are likely to be reversed if the ongoing tussle on the streets of Pakistan for control of the country reaches its logical conclusion later this year. It may happen sooner if the streets of Pakistan become bloodied after Nawaz Sharif returns home from Umrah in Saudi Arabia instead of going back to his self-imposed exile in London. It may happen only next year if Sharif is able to – even while being out of any formal office – restore a semblance of normalcy in the life of the aam admi in his country or if simmering differences in the Army are papered over.

Divided Loyalties

The new Army Chief, General Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, will stop at nothing to prevent the hugely popular Imran Khan from returning to elected office in Islamabad. Khan sacked General Munir, as he is commonly known, as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief before he completed even one year as spymaster and installed his most loyal General Faiz Hameed, now retired, in that crucial post. In Pakistan, the Chief of the (ISI) always has unfathomable tricks up his uniform, which less wily and conspiratorial Chiefs of Army Staff have to contend with. Despite his retirement, Faiz – as he is best known – commands huge loyalty at the Army GHQ.

After all, as ISI Chief, he won Afghanistan back for Pakistan without firing a shot on India’s Independence Day in 2021, went to Kabul soon after and practically handpicked and installed members of the new Taliban regime that September. Since retirement, Faiz has been helping Khan build his populist mass movement just as he is said to have covertly helped the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader build up his movement to dislodge Sharif as Prime Minister after the infamous 2016 Panama Papers leak on illegal foreign assets owned by politicians. Because Faiz has a following in the Army ranks, Munir has been viewing the former’s activities with great consternation. The Chief is unable to maintain the disciplined, monolithic atmosphere within the Pakistan Army any longer.

Then there is another General who has become a backroom player, the retired Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Always suspected, it has now been circumstantially acknowledged that Bajwa was instrumental in regime change in Islamabad last year because, for the most part, Khan had become an insurgent against Pakistan’s benefactors in Washington. After Shehbaz Sharif succeeded Khan, Bajwa is known to have been in constant contact with Nawaz Sharif in London.

Arrogated Guardian

The unprecedented intrigues within the Army – which were always firmly and quickly put down in the past before they drew big attention – do not bode well for India and for the rest of the world. The Army has been Pakistan’s only stable institution since General Ayub Khan – self-appointed Field Marshal in 1965 – seized power 11 years after that country’s formation in a constitutional coup d’état, justified by the Supreme Court under the “Doctrine of Necessity.” Every other institution in Pakistan has been systematically eviscerated and cannot be a reliable interlocutor for India. This applies to Washington as well, although successive administrations in the White House make a pretence of wanting democracy in Islamabad.

Most of Pakistan’s leaders like Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif had gradually, through trial by fire, been installed in office and also thrown out of office, matured under the Army’s overarching roof as the arrogated guardian of that country’s ultimate self-interest. Khan is yet to reach that level, having been in power just one time. Hillary Clinton, the United States of America’s Secretary of State, famously said: “It is like that old story – you cannot keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to only bite your neighbours. Eventually, those snakes are going to turn on whomever has them in the backyard.” Unlike other Prime Ministers mentored by the Army GHQ, Khan is yet to learn that lesson. Otherwise, he would not have committed the monumental mistake of making peace with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). That fragile peace ended when Khan ceased to be Prime Minister and Faiz retired as ISI Chief. The proverbial snakes have since been turning on those within Pakistan.

But the illusory idea of peace with the TTP has a big following within the Army’s ranks and this school is now ranged against Bajwa’s idea of accommodation with India and engagement of the US. Munir belongs to this camp, so does Nawaz Sharif. If these differences are not reconciled soon and the Army can no longer be the glue holding the country together, there is every possibility that Pakistan could splinter like Yugoslavia. With Pakistan’s secret warehouses full of nuclear weapons, this is not good news for anyone, least of all for neighbour India.

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The use of Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers (RPG) in the Mohali terror attack, on 9 May, and the smuggling in of US military hardware abandoned in Afghanistan into Kashmir expands the horizon of Pakistan’s proxy war against India.

The arrest of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the masterminded behind the May 29 murder of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala and his gang members unravelled many conspiracies Bishnoi is partly responsible for a flurry of activity that has begun on the diplomatic and security front.

The unassuming Bishnoi heads a transnational network of criminals that spreads from Moga in Punjab to safe-houses in Pakistan, all the way up to Canada. According to the Punjab Police, he runs an international extortion racket, headed by Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar in Canada and Harjot Singh Gill in the US.

The Bishnoi gang, though, is just one piece of the foreign-based gangster puzzle. A common link between the gangsters in India and those in Canada and the west is Harwinder Singh Sandhu, aka Rinda—a Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist who allegedly masterminded the RPG attack on the Punjab Police’s intelligence headquarters in Mohali.

Rinda is wanted by the Punjab Police in 22 cases and by the Maharashtra Police in two. He is said to be in Pakistan now, under a fake identity with an Indian passport, reportedly sheltered by Pakistan-based terrorist groups and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

With all this coming to light, security officials say that the old Khalistan-ISI nexus is far from dead; only the original leadership, nurtured by the ISI, has grown old, and a new team had to be created. This new group consists of at least 34 new faces—including Bishnoi and Brar—who are based in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and some other European countries. The new set has stylish branding and westernised names like Brothers Keepers, Hell’s Angels and Red Scorpions.

According to investigators, the Bishnoi gang, Rinda and the Canadian gangsters have several meeting points.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar of the Khalistan Tiger Force—against whom there are at least 10 FIRs in Punjab and Haryana, and who is on the National Investigation Agency’s wanted list—is learnt to be living in Surrey, British Columbia, on a Canadian passport.

The Indian government has reportedly sent dossiers to different countries with proof against these men, but they are yet to consider extradition.

Veteran Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Terry Milewski said his country does not see the Khalistani-terrorist nexus as a serious problem. The gangster activities are dealt with as “routine police problems”.

In Canada, certain politicians are against defining the [Khalistan] problem as a national security threat. That does not match Delhi’s expectations. But the fact remains that Canada safeguards freedom of speech and, legally, the country is correct to say that merely advocating a separate Sikh state and shouting ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ is not a crime.”

Most gangsters on India’s wanted list are Canadian citizens and, unless they commit a crime on Indian soil, Indian authorities cannot ask for their deportation or extradition. Western countries have also quoted their privacy laws for not sharing any information about citizens in their countries, even if they have links in Punjab. The other problem is the vast legal paperwork that comes into play, in each case, to prove the identity of the accused. Many have taken political asylum with new identities

But when some stray bullets hit people of the host country, a crackdown becomes inevitable. The July killing of Ripudaman Malik—who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India terror bombing case—has caught the attention of the Canadian police. Malik, a Canadian citizen, was keen on exposing the nexus between the ISI and Khalistani groups. He was unguarded as he enjoyed the freedom Canada was offering him. Days later, on July 24, Brothers Keepers member Meninder Dhaliwal and his friend Sat Gill were shot dead in a police encounter.

Though pro-Khalistani elements account for only a fraction of the Indian community in Canada, they have an outsized influence in community affairs. They gain legitimacy by acting as vote banks in various foreign countries, and remain a potent force that is being tapped by anti-India elements.

There was just a minuscule lot that demands a separate Khalistan today. The Khalistan Referendum by Sikhs for Justice has been an utter failure in India and abroad. So, the issue has completely failed as a geopolitical matter.

The need is for strategic and diplomatic cooperation to weed out the criminal elements, funded by global terror groups, who are trying to disturb the social fabric of all countries involved.

Also, with Indian intelligence now claiming that the gangster-terror groups have co-opted the human trafficking and narcotics networks—thereby adding more money and muscle power—it is a wake-up call for all parties involved.

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On the other side of the International Border (IB) in Punjab, the ISI has made the drone centres operational with the help of smugglers and terrorists. Sources in the Border Security Force (BSF) stated they have received intelligence that heightened drone activity is being noticed at several Pakistani border outposts across the IB from Ferozepur and Amritsar.

“Pakistan is using ‘dummy drones’ for weapons, drugs and explosives. Across the border near Khemkaran, smugglers fly drones with the help of Pak Rangers,” the sources said.

Terrorists and smugglers are loading explosives, arms and ammunitions in these dummy drones to evade Indian security forces and transport the contraband into border states like Punjab. They are increasingly using GPS-control drones for their nefarious operations.

In light of this threat, the BSF has sounded an alert regarding drone activity from the Pakistani side of the fence. It is also installing anti-drone systems at specific, sensitive points on the Punjab border. ‘Drone hunting teams’ have been deployed to shoot down enemy UAVs.

According to sources, 53 drone incursions were noticed on the border so far this year. Security forces shot down these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on nine occasions and recovered explosives and drugs from them.

The BSF has reportedly seized about 1,150 kg of drugs at the Punjab border in the last three years. Between January and April this year, 150 kg narcotics, including a massive haul of heroin, was intercepted by the BSF.

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These religious setups have mushroomed within 10 km from the Nepal border and also across the border in the Nepal side, leading to demographic change in some parts of the border areas in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the report has said.

Quoting intelligence inputs, officials said that in the last three years, the number of mosques has gone up from 760 in 2018 to 1,000 in 2021, while the number of madrasas has risen from 508 in 2018 to 645 in 2021 in Nepali territories, officials said.

The sources in the security grid said that these religious setups are being been funded by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and other anti-India organistions working abroad. The officials in the security forces have admitted that the size and grandeur of these mosques and madrasas itself indicate foreign fundings, and apart from the ISI, these religious houses also get fundings from Arab countries.

The security officials deployed on the India-Nepal border said that these centres have been instigating anti-India sentiments and they also give shelter to criminals active in the border areas of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

“These areas have also seen a spurt of smuggling of fake Indian currency notes and narcotics, and there is no extradition treaty agreement with Nepal,” a government official said.

Officials in the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar governments have also admitted that criminals often take shelter in these religious places after committing crimes as the India-Nepal border is unfenced and porous. The Integrated Check Posts have been set up on the major roads but the village roads leading to Nepal are unguarded, they added.

India shares 1,751-km borders with Nepal along Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim, while Uttar Pradesh shares a 570-km border with Nepal and has 35 border police stations. Similarly, Bihar and West Bengal also share 726 km and 100 km border with Nepal, respectively.

“The majority of construction of mosques, madrasas and mosque-cum-madrasas have been flagged in Uttar Pradesh’s border districts of Maharajganj, Siddharth Nagar, Balrampur, Bahraich, Shravasti, Pilibhit and Khiri, while Kishanganj and Araria in Bihar and Panitanki town of Darjeeling district in West Bengal have seen such rise in last three years,” an official in the central security grid said.

In recent years, the Himalayan state has been used by Pakistan-based terror groups as safe havens and the Indian agencies have substantial evidences as to how the Nepalese banks have also been playing a crucial role in terror-funding against India.

In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh Police had busted an international terrorism funding racket linked to Nepal’s central bank and they claimed the involvement of Indian nationals who used to bring money from Nepal and use it to fund terrorist activities in the country.

The chief of dreaded terror organisation Indian Mujahideen, Yasin Bhatkal, and his aide Asadulah Akhtar, who were from Pokhra in Nepal, were hiding there after carrying out a series of bomb blasts in India in 2013. Bhatkal was arrested on August 2013 from the Nepal border near Motihari in East Champaran district in Bihar.

Describing the enormity of the security threat posed by these religious setups in Nepal, retired IPS officer Vijay Shankar Singh said that these setups are being funded by the ISI, and the Government of India needs to speak to the Nepal government immediately to stop anti-India activities.

“India needs to focus on re-strengthening its ties with Nepal, which has been a natural ally of India historically. We have the ‘Beti- Roti’ relation with Nepal from hundred years ago, there is a matrimonial relationship between families residing in the border areas of Bihar and UP with Nepalese people,” Singh said.

He also said that the proposed rail and road connectivity from China has also changed Nepal’s allegiance towards China and the Communist-backed government in the Himalayan nation has almost dumped India.

In recent times, Pakistan and China supported Nepal financially in many infrastructure projects which has led to a swift change in alliance with these countries.

Nepal, the land-locked country, was totally dependent on India for import but recently China has promised a 417 km long rail link up to Kathmandu from the Chinese section Shigaste.

Beijing and Kathmandu signed a treaty in 2016 to build a rail link to Nepal under China’s Belt and Road Initiatives. A ‘Friendship Highway’ of 806 km is being constructed to connect Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, with Nepal border which is about to be completed soon.

Citing his experience as Senior Superintendent of Police in eastern Uttar Pradesh districts, Singh said that the Indian security agencies need to keep an eye on the people who frequently visit these mosques and madarsas and the Indian government needs to use diplomatic channels to stop these activities along the India-Nepal border.

He also said that the majority of the population in both the countries are in favour of having smooth relations as they are historically and culturally associated with each other.

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