EX-IG Prisons Mirza Shahid Saleem dismisses the news of his arrest and calls it fake. Surprisingly, a video shows him watching the news of his arrest at his home. The video has gone viral on social media.
He also released a video message in which he said that he watched the news of his arrest while having a cup of tea at his home. ‘I am safe and sound at my house and any news of my arrest by the institutions is fake as well as baseless,” Baig said.
However, sources claim that he was arrested for a short period of time but was released after questioning and was allowed to go home. He is said to have been arrested on the charges of facilitating Former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Shahid Saleem Baig served in the prison department for five years.
On Monday, Pakistan’s military announced the detention of the country’s former spy chief, retired General Faiz Hameed, and the initiation of court-martial proceedings against him on charges including abuse of office, corruption, and breaches of army regulations.
Hameed, who led the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2022, is a rare case of a high-ranking military official being arrested in Pakistan, where the military has ruled for over 30 years since the country’s independence in 1947 and remains highly influential.
Read more: Faiz Hameed, Ex-Spy Chief, Arrested Amid Court-Martial in Pakistan
The ISI chief is considered the second most powerful military figure in Pakistan after the army chief. The military’s statement on Monday said the arrest followed a Supreme Court-ordered inquiry that found “multiple instances of violations of the Pakistan Army Act” after Hameed’s retirement.
“The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated, and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody,” the statement read, without detailing the specific violations.
Attempts to contact Hameed for comment were unsuccessful, as the military prohibits access to officers in custody, particularly those facing court martial.