Pakistan names hardliner Lt Gen Faiz Hameed new ISI chief

In a surprise reshuffle, the Pakistan Army has appointed Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as the chief of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, replacing current spymaster Lt General Asim Munir after a brief stint of eight months.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed appointed as the Director General of the ISI, according to a statement issued by the military's media wing - Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - on Sunday.

On April 12, the Pakistan Army promoted then-Major General Hameed to the rank of Lt Gen and appointed him Adjutant General at the General Headquarters (GHQ) later that month.

He previously served in the ISI as the head of internal security and is believed to be a close aide of Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Lt Gen Munir was appointed as Corps Commander Gujranwala. His eight-month stint as the ISI chief was probably one of the shortest among those who had served this office, Dawn reported.

Gen Munir was appointed as the ISI chief in October last year after the retirement of his predecessor Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar.

Lt Gen Hameed's name first caught public eye when he helped end Faizabad dharna by a radical religious group in November 2017 through a deal.

His appointment comes at a very crucial time and it is believed that his vast experience at ISI may help him deal with both external and internal security challenges.

Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza would replace Lt Gen Hameed as the adjutant general at GHQ.

Lt Gen Amir Abbasi has been moved from Gujranwala Corps, where he was posted as commander, to GHQ as Quarter Master General.